Hahoe and Yangdong (Republic of Korea) No 1324
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Date received by the World Heritage Centre: 20 January 2009 Hahoe and Yangdong (Republic of Korea) Background: This is a new nomination. No 1324 Consultations: ICOMOS has consulted its International Scientific Committees on Historic Towns and Villages and on vernacular Architecture as well as independent experts. Official name as proposed by the State Party: Literature consulted (selection): Historic Villages of Korea: Choi, Jae-Soon et al, Hanoak: Traditional Korean Homes, 1999. Hahoe and Yangdong Choi Sang-hŏn, Interior space and furniture of Joseon upper- Location: class houses, (1951), 2007. Andong City and Gyeongju City, Kim, Bong-ryeol. I Ddang-e Saegyeojin Jeongsin (The Spirit Gyeongsangbuk-do province Etched on this Land), 1999. Republic of Korea Yoon, Hong-key, The culture of fengshui in Korea: an exploration of East Asian geomancy, 2006. Brief description: Technical Evaluation Mission: 9-14 September 2009 The two villages of Hahoe and Yangdong in their landscape settings are seen as the two most Additional information requested and received from the representative historic, clan villages in Korea. They were State Party: ICOMOS has sent a letter to the State Party founded in the 14th-15th century and subsequently on 18 December 2009 requesting further information on expanded to their present size and composition in the the following points: late 18th and 19th centuries. • Comparative analysis Their layout and siting, sheltered by forested mountains • Conservation Councils and facing out onto a river and open agricultural fields, • reflect the distinctive aristocratic Confucian culture of the Management plan • early part of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). Ownership • Buffer zones The villages were located to provide both physical and spiritual nourishment from their surrounding landscapes. The State Party sent a reply on 26 February 2010. The They include the residences of the head families, analysis of this supplementary information is included in together with substantial timber framed houses of other the present evaluation. clan members, also pavilions, study halls, Confucian academies for learning, and clusters of one storey mud- Date of ICOMOS approval of this report: 17 March 2010 walled, thatched-roofed houses, formerly for commoners. 2. THE PROPERTY The landscapes of mountains, trees and water around the villages, framed in views from pavilions and retreats, Description were celebrated for their beauty by 17th and 18th century poets. The two villages of Hahoe and Yangdong are both located in the south-eastern region of the Korean Category of property: peninsula, the heartland of a distinct Confucian aristocratic culture during the Joseon Dynasty that ruled In terms of categories of cultural property set out in the Korean Peninsula for more than five hundred years. Article 1 of the 1972 World Heritage Convention, this is a There is a distance of 90km between them. serial nomination of six sites. The six sites are: 1. BASIC DATA Hahoe: Included in the Tentative List: Hahoe Village: 18 August • Village and surrounding landscape 1998 and Yangdong village: 25 January 2002 • Academy 4 km to the east o both linked by a buffer zone International Assistance from the World Heritage Fund for preparing the Nomination: None 156 Yangdong: difficult to draw a distinct line between the two types of building. • Village surrounded by a buffer zone, • Academy 8km to the west, Seowon, or a Confucian academy was a private • House 8km to the west, educational institution set up exclusively for a man who had achieved outstanding learning and virtue. Its twin o linked by a buffer zone, • Academy 4km to the east with a small buffer roles of enshrining a specific sage and educating zone. students were reflected in its components: shrine, jeonsacheong, a building for the preparation of memorial The two villages represent the two typical modes by rites, lecture hall, students’ quarters (jaesa), library which aristocratic clan villages were formed. Hahoe was (jangpangak), and an elevated pavilion (nugak) where a pioneering settlement formed when Ryu Jong-hye, of Confucian scholars held gatherings or took rests. The the Ryu clan, selected the land as the permanent home main buildings were typically sited along a north-south for his descendants at the end of the Goryeo Dynasty in axis. the 14th century. Yangdong Village by contrast began to grow into a village of the nobility when the Son clan The clan organisations continue to conduct ceremonies hailing from another village moved to a wife’s hometown honouring ancestors, maintain and repair buildings and in 1457. sites, related to their ancestors, and promote good relationships among clan members. The clan Both villages developed in a similar way. They organizations are also responsible for raising common demonstrate the characteristic style of nobility houses, funds to finance the construction and operation of yangban, in the region, with timber-framed and tiled roof facilities, such as head family houses, ancestral shrines, buildings surrounding a small court or impluvium. This study halls, pavilions, Confucian academies and village style is said to reflect the style of palace buildings of the schools. They also are in charge of publishing the clan’s Goryeo dynasty that migrated to the region after the fall genealogical register and collections of ancestors’ of the dynasty, and is also well suited to the climate with literary works. its extremes of temperature between summers and winter. The nominated area includes for Hahoe village part of the background mountain, part of the river and some of Each of the yangban houses generally had separate the communities’ agricultural fields, and for Yangdong quarters for men and women, and, where resources village part of the surrounding woodland. permitted, detached servants’ quarters, grain stores, household stores and a library. The house of the head of The two villages are described separately: the family would have been distinguished by an ancestral shrine and that of the main ‘descent’ family a Hahoe Village: large ritual or reception hall for maintaining ancestral tablets and hosting ceremonies. Overall the yangban The Pungsan Ryu clan who formed the village were one houses of the nobility reflect the social order of the of the five powerful local families of the Andong region. Joseon dynasty, with its rigid distinctions between male The family produced many notable politicians and th and female, outer and inner, young and old, servant and scholars, and from the 16 century were recognized as a master. prominent aristocratic clan in the south-east of Korea. By contrast, the more plentiful houses of the The village is sited on the upper reaches of the commoners, were one storey mud walled and thatch Nakdonggang River where it loops around Mount roofed buildings. Clustered around the yangban houses, Hwasan. The name Hahoe means the river meanders. they had all their living and service rooms under one The Nakdonggang River flows south into the Korean roof. Strait and drains most of north and south Gyeongsang provinces. The river water allowed the region to prosper Although the nomination dossier is very rich with visual from rice production from the early Joseon period. material on the buildings and explanations of the architectural typology, ICOMOS notes that there is little The nominated area consists of the village, some of the information on construction materials and techniques, or cultivated fields, the lower slopes of the mountain on the human and organizational aspect of traditional behind, and the edges of the river on the opposite banks building and craftsmanship. of the river, on which is the Hwacheonseowon Academy. Also in the nominated area is the Byeongsansseowon Away from the houses, in secluded scenic spots, Confucian Academy, a discrete site approximately 3km scholars, who were men of high standing from noble east of the village joined to the main site by the buffer families, built separate pavilions, either jeongja (open zone. sided structures), retreats where the scenery could be enjoyed, or jeongsa (study halls), for lectures, or The main elements of the nominated area are described revering ancient sages. However, as a pavilion could be separately: sited in the compound of a study hall, it is sometimes 157 Village layout but the main building was destroyed by fire in 1954. The standing buildings include a finely decorated pavilion re- The village centre is a small mound on the upper slopes located here from the opposite side of the river in the of which is Yangjindang House, the head family house. 1980s. In plan, this mound is seen as the centre of a lotus flower with the pistils or stamens extending outwards Bukchondaek House from it. The road linking Yangjindang House to Chunghyodang house, the residence of the head of a The house assumed its present form in 1862, an branch of the family, forms the main axis of the village. expansion of a late 18th century dwelling. The women’s Spread out round the village are yangban, or aristocratic quarters’, anchae, is the widest of any building in Hahoe houses, with their facades built to face a good view, and and its large roof is supported by columns. surrounding each of these are clusters of commoners’ thatched roof houses. Hadonggotaek House The village and its main noble houses were set out to Built in the mid 19th century. reflect pungsu principles, in their orientation towards protective mountains. Jakcheongotaek House The descriptive text in the nomination dossier mainly Located near the river, this is an example of a small- concentrates on the houses of the nobility. ICOMOS scale noble house. It dates from the 19th century. A flood notes that there is little description of the collection of in 1934 washed away its main gate compound. commoners’ houses, the spaces between buildings or of the surrounding landscape, with its forests, agricultural Bak Jeong-suk House fields and valued views.