| Title |
The Popularization and Marginalization of Tradition through the Use of Octagonal Elements in Postwar North Korean Architecture |
| DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5659/JAIK.2025.41.11.161 |
| Keywords |
North Korea; Architecture; Tradition; Octagon; Column; Goguryeo |
| Abstract |
This paper examines the brief popularity of octagonal elements in North Korean architecture during the 1950s and their subsequent
marginalization from the 1960s onward. It argues that the octagonal column?widely used in the 1950s?reflected the socialist realist principle
of mobilizing national motifs rather than a deliberate revival of Goguryeo heritage. Following the 1953 armistice, efforts were made to
combine Soviet architectural practice with Korean traditional forms under socialist realism. In this context, the octagonal column from Korean
tradition was revived and frequently applied to the facades of Soviet-style neoclassical buildings during the 1950s. By contrast, other
octagonal motifs, such as octagonal roofs and plan geometries, were harder to reconcile with programmatic and structural requirements and
thus appeared only in limited cases where function or symbolism warranted them. From the 1960s onward, the traditional character of Korean
architecture was expressed primarily through characteristic features of traditional timber construction, such as bracket systems and gabled roof
forms. Because the octagon is distinctive yet not universal within Korean architectural tradition, it gradually moved to the margins. In short,
the popularity of octagonal forms in North Korea was largely confined to one element (the octagonal column) and to a single decade (the
1950s), underscoring that tradition was not a fixed legacy but a selectively constructed resource for contemporary needs. |