[KS] early modern architecture

[Horace H. Underwood]

My comment is not actually architecture but construction.  My grandfather,
Mr. Henry W. Davidson, supervised the construction of one of the earliest
western buildings in Seoul, the "Stone Palace" in the Toksu Palace grounds.
My grandfather had come to China from Scotland under the China Customs
Service run by Great Britain, and had been reassigned to Korea during the
Boxer Rebellion and worked in the Korean Customs Office until 1905.  The
Customs Office was given the job of supervising the construction, and the
Customs Office assigned him.  The construction was not complete when the
Japanese took over in 1905, but my grandfather continued supervision through
to completion.  So I assume the building was complete about 1906.  Since it
was commissioned by Koreans, designed by westerners, constructed under
Korean AND Japanese governance with construction supervised by a Scot, the
identity question might be a bit mixed.

This information was in my father's just-published book, "Korea is War,
Revolution and Peace."  My father says that Gregory Henderson also published
an article, maybe in a RAS transactions, on Chongdong that would probably
have mentioned old buildings in that area.

Horace H. Underwood
Fulbright Korea

-----Original Message-----
From: Koreanstudies-admin at koreaweb.ws
[mailto:Koreanstudies-admin at koreaweb.ws]On Behalf Of John Scoville
Sent: Monday, December 31, 2001 5:07 PM
To: Koreanstudies at koreaweb.ws
Cc: d.hinds at rocketmail.com
Subject: Re: [KS] early modern architecture


I am no scholar by any stretch in any field, but I can point you in the
right direction, I think.  On Taehakno in Tongsungdong in Seoul, in the
vicinity of The Seoul National University Hospital, on the east side or the
road is the former/original campus of Seoul National University, presently
occupied by Korea National Open University.  If you enter the main gate to
the campus and turn to the right the oldest building on the campus fits the
period you are looking for.  I am confident there will be as member of the
KNOU administration, faculty or staff who will be more than happy to connect
you with scholarly resources in the area you desire, and show you around the
building while you are there.

If this is in the category of Been There, Done That, feel free to disregard
this message.

John Scoville
Fairbanks, Alaska
----- Original Message -----
From: Diana Hinds <d.hinds at rocketmail.com>
To: <Koreanstudies at koreaweb.ws>
Sent: Sunday, December 30, 2001 6:23 AM
Subject: [KS] early modern architecture


>
> Happy New Year, everyone.
>
> I'm looking for resources concerning modern Japanese
> and Korean architecture in Seoul between 1900 and
> 1945.  If you've done any research or run across any
> scholarly resources in this area, please let me know.
> In addition, if there are any scholars specializing in
> the history of Korean architecture, I'd love to
> correspond with you.  I'm interested in looking at
> whether and to what degree national identity was
> inscribed on the buildings designed by Japanese vs.
> Koreans in this era.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Diana Hinds
>
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