| Title |
Planned Backgrounds and Architectural Meanings about the Foreign Branches of Joseon Bank |
| Authors |
Kim Young-Jae ; Han Dong-Soo |
| Keywords |
Joseon(Chosen) Bank ; Korean Bank ; Chinese Northeast ; Greek/Roman Temple ; Renaissance Palazzo |
| Abstract |
This study deals with two points to understand the beginning and construction of Joseon Bank. In the first place, it explores intended backgrounds in the process of the foundation of foreign banks. Secondly, it investigates that their architectural characteristics of the banks can be explained in the re-interpretation of the function and emblem about such classical architecture as Greek/Roman ‘temple’, Renaissance ‘palazzo’, Baroque ‘dome’, and so on. Drawing upon these understandings, this article proposes that the Joseon Bank was politically appropriated by the Japanese government that tried to occupy an economic power in their colonial areas through the circulation of money. Likewise, it suggests that the fixed adoption appeared in the facade design of bank architecture through the applications of the classical orders of columns and pilasters to adorn the surface of walls, and different windows to the facade on the three levels of buildings. This research furthermore argues that the assemblies on the facade of bank architecture remind us of the original symbols (e.g.“strongness and firmness”, “stability and financial dependability”, and even “Athenian democratic and Roman cosmopolitan ideal”) of building models such as temples, palazzos, etc. This thesis lastly shows how all branches of Joseon Bank do not only reveal the indigenous emblems in the architectural vocabularies of the facade design, but also add new architectural meanings as an economic controller to serve the purpose of Japanese colonialists under the political situation of “invasion and control.” |