| Title |
Changes in Roof type of Sungnyemun in Seoul in the 1860s |
| DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5659/JAIK.2022.38.9.159 |
| Keywords |
Sungnyemun; roof type; gable-on-hip; hipped; 1860s |
| Abstract |
In the early 1960s, it was argued that the hipped roof of Sungnyemun, the main gate of Seoul, was originally a gable-on-hip roof. Through
recently discovered materials, this study aims to investigate this claim. In 2008, Sungnyemun Gate was damaged in a fire, various materials
were examined and discovered until it was restored in 2013 amid national interest. One of them is an analysis of the age of the wooden
members, and the other is an actual measurement drawings made before the first dismantling and repair work in the 1960s. Combining these
two types of data and the records at the time of its dismantling in the 1960s, it can be seen that Sungnyemun had a gable-on-hip roof, but
was changed to a hipped roof during its construction in the 1860s. The structural difference between the hipped roof and the gable-on-hip
roof appears in the part of short-rafter, not in the part of the long-rafter. This study looked closely at the short-rafter part by dividing it into
a longitudinal section and a cross section. |