Journal of the Korean Housing Association ISSN:2234-3571(Print) 2234-2257(Online) 한국주거학회논문집

There have not been many debates on the subject of Korean architecture during the transformative period of Gae Wha Gi (開化期: Enlightenment Period of Korea), when Western-style buildings first appeared in Seoul. This study begins by finding and recording those buildings in Seoul that show the gradual adoption and appropriation of Western architectural elements at the turn of the 20th century. By exploring the confluence of two different architectural styles, this paper attempts to look carefully at the hybrid conditions that resulted from encounters between the Koreans and the Westerners in the late 19th and early 20th century. Beginning with discovering the first products of the Western architectural influence in Seoul, this study explores the uneasy co-existence between the traditional Korean architectural style, and the Western architectural style. This co-existence ultimately bred new building techniques, and interior layouts; the appearance of these hybrid buildings illustrate the gradual transition from the traditional way, in which users modified, combined and appropriated various elements from both styles. Analyzing historical documents and photos, this study tries to capture a detailed image of the period when the influence of the Western architecture had an unavoidable impact and brought change to the traditional architecture of Korea.