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The Secret Spirit of Korean Architecture
- Genre : Humanities, Science
- Author : KIM Bongryol
- Publisher : Ideal Architecture Co., Ltd.
- Pub.Year : 1999
- Pages : 358
- Format : 297 X 210 mm
- ISBN :
 
Most Koreans do not seem to have the background to understand architecture as an art form. KIM Bongryeol, a scholar in architecture, has written this book about Korean architecture to inform people of its importance and characteristics. These essays on Korean architecture originally were published in a monthly magazine, , from November 1995 until December 1997. Ideal Architecture Co., Ltd. published the three-book set The Rediscovery of Korean Architecture in 1999. The first volume Vessels of Our Age discusses the history of architecture. In the second volume, , the author conveys his thoughts about the beauty of buildings. The third volume, The Spirit Written on this Ground, focuses on the ideological concepts underlying the architecture of buildings. This discussion includes a consideration of the collective characteristics of Korean architecture. And now, the three volumes are being compiled into a separate volume, , for the international audience. This volume incorporates all the underlying ideas implied in the three volumes but is streamlined so that even readers unacquainted to Korean Architecture or History can read through without much difficulty. KIM describes Korean architecture based on visitations to the sites. He sees not only a building’s architectural structure but its history by knowing about the building’s architect and worker’s who built it. In a forum in Japan, the author told his audience, "As long as we regard Korean architecture as the thing of the past as we just appreciate the ancient relics in a museum, architecture cannot be reborn as art of real substance but an object of sentimentalism. We have to see things as they are in order to grasp their real meaning." It helps the reader understand not only the essence of Korean architecture but also the mind and spirit of the architects. The Korean buildings the author describes in his book include 'Seokgulam Grotto', 'Bulguksa Temple', 'Jongmyo Shrine' and 'Hwaseong Fortress' and others. These are registered as the World Cultural Heritages designated by UNESCO.