A world of infinite horizons
If the Parthenon of Greece represents Western temple architecture, then the Jongmyo Shrine of Joseon is in the East. Both buildings boast the grandeur of temple architecture. They are magnificent. However, the form of grandeur is quite different. While the Parthenon emphasized straight lines and took the horizontal as the basis, Jongmyo emphasized horizontal forms by excluding vertical elements as much as possible. If the Parthenon is a building that pursues balance, Jongmyo is a building that pursues infinity.
The appearance of the shrine itself is simple. If you look at each element separately, it feels plain. This is because colors and decorations were restrained. However, if you walk through the space, the first impression is completely reversed. The tiled roof embraces visitors with a dignified appearance, and the floor paved with rough stone slabs tells of the piety of life and death. The stones, placed roughly and without refinement, are a warning to be careful with your steps, and an attempt to block the reflection of sunlight. This is where the charm of the shrine comes from.
Parthenon, Greece
Seeds
The term Jongmyo Shrine is probably familiar. This term, which often appears in historical dramas, literally symbolizes Joseon. Therefore , Jongmyo is literally the foundation of the nation. Jongmyo is the first building built by Joseon, which adopted Confucianism as its governing ideology. Perhaps because of this, it is not intimidating, but the deep, solemn atmosphere makes people feel solemn. It is a space where you can feel the authority of the kings of old, even without exaggeration.
For that reason, when you enter Jongmyo, you are sometimes surprised by the heaviness that you did not expect at all. It is a unique spatiality that domestic and international architects all talk about. Frank Gehry, the architect who designed Louis Vuitton Maison Seoul and the 11th Pritzker Prize winner, is one of the people who was drawn to Jongmyo's mysterious charm. "It is hard to find such a solemn and quiet space anywhere in the world. If I had to choose, I think it would be the Parthenon." Japanese architect Seiichi Shirai also said, "If there is the Parthenon in the West, there is Jongmyo in the East."
With a length of 109 meters, Jongmyo Shrine, the world's longest wooden structure, is a shrine that houses the spirit tablets of the kings and queens of the Joseon Dynasty. It is a symbolic building where the king regularly visits for ancestral rites to pray for the safety of the nation and the people and announces the legitimacy of the royal family to the world. Many domestic and foreign architects choose Jongmyo Shrine if they have to choose just one Korean building. It is a masterpiece that receives favorable reviews.
It was originally built in the fourth year of King Taejo’s reign (1395), but was destroyed during the Imjin War. King Seonjo and his entourage took the ancestral tablets with them when they fled, so they were spared from complete destruction. It was later rebuilt in the first year of King Gwanghaegun’s reign (1608) and underwent several repairs to become the Jongmyo Shrine we see today. It was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995. Jongmyo Jerye was subsequently registered in 2001. It is the only place in East Asia where religious ceremonies remain intact along with the buildings. This is evidence of the symbolic meaning of Jongmyo throughout the Joseon Dynasty.
If the palace is the space of the living, Jongmyo is often expressed as the space of the dead. However, this is only partially true. Jongmyo is a space that strengthens the authority of the royal family by borrowing the dead. The ritual of respecting the dead is a basic foundation. Just as the priest who presided over the ancestral rites held intangible power since ancient times, the same goes for Confucian ancestral rites. The story is that a king who ascended to the throne could never take Jongmyo ancestral rites lightly. He had to show an extreme attitude so that his spirit could receive the same treatment.
Therefore, Jongmyo exists in a cyclical worldview that respects past power while reinforcing present power and preparing for future power. The talk about showing a landscape that blends in with nature in the forest is just a secondary story. The oak forest surrounds the main hall like a cloak, which is known to have the meaning of separating and protecting the world of the gods and the secular world. However, if you think about the meaning again, you can understand that it means not revealing the royal symbol to the outside as much as possible. It means that you need to be qualified to come into contact with the symbol of royal authority.
When Jongmyo was first built, pine trees dominated the forest. However, since oak trees with relatively large branches and leaves were considered more suitable for highlighting the authority of the building implied by Jongmyo than the light texture of pine trees, the ratio of tree species was gradually adjusted, and now we see the oak forest we have. Only after passing through this forest can we reach Jeongjeon, the main stage of Jongmyo. It is a natural device that metaphorically represents that the sacredness of the royal family is in an inviolable area. It is not wrong to say that the connection between architecture and nature was important, but it is not an accurate statement. Nature can be said to be a kind of barrier that protects the building called Jongmyo.
The direction of Jongmyo is particularly closely related to the east. First of all, it is located on the east side of the palace. To visit Jongmyo, you had to go through the east gate, not the south gate where the gods passed. When it was expanded, branches were extended to the east. This is a characteristic of Joseon architecture rooted in geomancy. Jeongjeon currently has a total of 19 rooms, but in the beginning, there were only 7 rooms. By the time of King Sejong’s accession to the throne, all 7 rooms had found new owners, so Yeongnyeongjeon was newly built.
Later, during the reign of King Myeongjong, additional Jeongjeon was built, which is how Jongmyo looks today. It was something that went along with the dynasty's fortune. Accordingly, the ancestral tablets are placed according to the king's order from west to east. Each independent ancestral chamber is long and horizontal, and it boasts the largest scale among wooden structures. If you know that Jongmyo in China has nine rooms, you will easily understand. The contrast between the shadow under the eaves and the light pouring down into the yard is a spectacular sight, extending in a long rectangular shape. It can be said to be the process of nature dressing up architecture.
"In this Seoul where the specter of materialism lurks everywhere, there is a place that constantly purifies this corrupt Seoul, and that place is Jongmyo. (Omitted) Jongmyo is a sacred place that restores the distorted centrality of Seoul, and it is an architecture that maximizes our traditional spatial concept of 'aesthetics of emptiness.' " This is the declaration of architect Seung Hyo-sang. In other words, architecture is the construction of an invisible space.
Jongmyo is an excellent symbol of architecture in that architecture must evoke emotional expressions that cannot be explained in words. If we look at the individuality of the building as we do with Western architecture, we cannot feel the greatness of Jongmyo. We must look into the characteristics of the place where the building was built. We must consider the region and go beyond the place. That is, feng shui. This is not a simple superstition, but the attitude of our ancestors toward architecture.
Although the horizon expanded infinitely and was cut off at some point in 1910 when national sovereignty was lost, the significance of Jongmyo seems to be multiplied because of this. It shows respect for the finite life span of humans and the afterlife. It was intended to enhance the authority of the royal family, but that was not all.
"Noble simplicity and quiet grandeur." This is what art historian Johann Joachim Winckelmann said when praising Greek sculpture. This is also a phrase that many domestic intellectuals use when comparing Jongmyo to the shrine. I cannot help but use this phrase when looking at Jongmyo. I must visit Jongmyo today.