Korea at the Exhibition: Making the Appearance of Korean Style with 'Hybrid Roof' in Early 20th Century

Abstract

This study analyzed 15 unique cases of buildings designed by the Japanese that had the exterior appearance of traditional Korean architecture while the Western timber truss was applied. The characteristics of Korean-style roofs were first categorized into three parts: structural frame, roof curve, and eaves space. Then, the analytic drawings were prepared in order to scrutinize the cases in accordance with these characteristics. The analysis revealed that the Western truss was hybridized to embody the Korean-style roofs. The truss was segmented, diagonal supplementary building components were added, or some components of the Korean or Japanese-style timber structure were partially applied. The advent of such a 'hybrid roof' shares a background with the westernization of the construction techniques of the timber structure since the late 19th century in Japan. The political initiatives of Japan deliberately led to the exhibition of exotic Joseon in the expositions, thereby requiring Korean-style pavilions. As a result, the pavilion reflected double layers of hybridization: a Korean timber structure transformed through the Japanese westernization method. Although the buildings studied in this research were designed by non-Koreans and were already demolished, they are noteworthy for the unprecedented attempts to realize the appearance of traditional Korean architecture by using truss structures.