The first impression that a Hanok gave me was that it is very nature friendly. We learned that no nails were used to build a Hanok for several reasons but most importantly to make it easier to rebuild. Another thing that influenced the Hanok structure a lot was religion. Confucianism, the most common religion among people during the Chosun Dynasty took the huge part in the structure of the Hanok. Confucianism originates from China and teaches mostly about respecting your elders. It also taught that men were at a higher status than women. These influenced the style of architecture and lead to having shrines inside the house where you would pay respect to your ancestors. Yangbans would bow everyday while citizens of the lower class would hold a ceremony on only New Years and during Korean Thanksgiving. Confucianism also divided the house into two parts; the Sarangchae and the Anchae. Men of the household usually lived in the Sarangchae while the women and children lived in the Anchae. These two quarters are easy to distinguish since the Sarangchae consisted of the necessities for studying while the Anchae didn't but had a kitchen. Also the Sarangchae was located right in front of the entrance to the house while the Anchae was more to the inside of the house. This was to protect the woman of the household.
Other than just the structure of the houses layout, the science behind keeping a moderate temperature of the house during extreme summers and winters was also very interesting. Unlike the furnace heating system in western houses, Koreans use a floor heating system called Ondol. The method of the Ondol is when you light a fire in the kitchen, the warm air would travel beneath the floors and warm the house. This is why all the houses are built off the ground. During the hot summers people enjoyed sitting out on the Daechungmaru where the ventilation was very active. The cold air from the backyard would travel to the front yard where the air was hot causing wind to blow. This is called ventilation a common method to cool the houses during the Chosun Dynasty.
Namson Hanok Village gave me a chance to learn in depth about the way our ancestors lived in the past but also made me realize that not much has changed and that our ancestors traditions have been passed down to us and helped us shape modern society today.
