March 29, 2024
KCNA Pyongyang Times

Housing custom of Korean people

Date: 20/01/2021 | Source: Pyongyang Times | Read original version at source

“The characteristic features of housing custom of the Korean people can be found in construction, equipment, heating system and economic facilities and their use,” said Kong Myong Song, director of the Folklore Research Institute of the Academy of Social Sciences.

The Koreans’ houses were built to face south. The roofs were gabled and their materials included tile and purple eulalia.

The floor of a room had been their main living space: they sat on the floor to have a meal, talk and rest and to do household chores. Therefore, the underfloor heating was indispensable. The system is connected to the kitchen furnace and has a chimney. A fire is kindled at the furnace to cook a meal and heat the floor. As the underfloor heating system preserves heat for a long time, it ensures an appropriate room temperature sustainably. As the whole floor is heated, every space can rationally be used. And as the heat is used for cooking, it can save much fuel.

The Koreans lived with a full set of economic facilities. As agriculture was the main means of production, the storehouse was used to keep necessary farming tools and other economic things. There were a mill, stable, cowshed, well and the like in the courtyard.

The mill consisted of a millstone worked by a donkey or a horse for pounding cereals and a mill worked by treading.

It is also a traditional custom to build a strip of level ground under the eaves of houses. Such a platform was built with earth to a certain height in front of the door of the house and it gave a sense of architectural security while protecting the foundations of the house. The Koreans would have a break on the strip when they did household work. Family members would sit on it to have a chat viewing the moon at sultry summer night or sleep on it. And the owner of a house would have a talk with brief visitors on the platform.

In addition, cushion, mat, folding screen and other consumer goods and such kitchen utensils as jar, bowl, steamer, earthenware tub, iron pot and large bowl show the living custom of the Koreans.

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