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The
History of the Youlhwadang
From
1815, Again from 1971 to 2006
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Youlhwadang,
Sungyojang.
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In
Gangneung, a beautiful city on the east coast of the
Korean peninsula,
there stands an elegant, traditional
residence called Sungyojang (àÏÎéíö).
The
representative of the publisher was born in this old
residence of the
Joseon period and grew up there.
The Youlhwadang Publisher is named
from the sarangchae
(the men s part of a house) of this residence,
Youlhwadang
(æíü¥ÓÑ). Many scholars have come together in this building
which was founded in 1815, to discuss and pursue
truth since then.
In this building which preserves
precious classical books, paintings
and literature,
there were printed collections of writings by family
members of
Sungyojang, their genealogy, and textbooks
containing the teachings
of ancient sages. In the
early 20th century, a new educational institution
called
Dongjin Hakgyo (ÔÔòäùÊÎè) was established
in it, becoming a
historical center of learning
and education. Like the meaning
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of
the word Youlhwadang, intimate people
come
together and talk affectionately with
each other,
this building was a center for
the preservation
of traditional Korean
culture and a spirit of discussion.
The Youlhwadang Publisher which took root
in
such a spirit seeks to lay a new foundation
for
publishing culture based on its history
of nearly
two hundred years.
A
complete view of Sungyojang.
Gangneung, Gangwon-do.
1980.
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For
Arts with Beautiful Spirit
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A
view of Youlhwadang Publisher, Paju Bookcity,
Korea. 2004.
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It
was in 1971, when Youlhwadang plunged into the then
still young publishing genre of fine arts, visual media,
and the traditional Korean culture. Since then, Youlhwadang
has been keeping on publishing books requiring great
care, yet of timeless value, with the devotion and steadfastness
of a seamstress patiently completing one stitch at a
time. We have defied the notion that book publishing
is for fast growth and fat profits. Instead, we have
operated under the mantra that book publishing is to
provide a meeting place for the creator of intellectual
works (the writer) and the user (the reader), where
they can connect with each other and grow together.
We have endeavored to create a list of published books
with solid content that we can be proud of. This book
list contains some 130 books, each the product of our
labor of love in the past 30 some years. As each book
was born with long and painful labor, so each shines
forth their beautiful spirit even more brightly. It
is our wish that each of our books remains as a trusted
companion for a long time to those who truly need and
appreciate it. We are working hard daily to create books
of literary works and arts that embody and lead
our times, and that sustain the future of
the Korean culture. Future will undoubtedly
force us to adapt to changing times here and there,
but today, some thirty years after our first baby step,
we are as determined as any time to remain always true
to our first calling.
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The
Architectural Design of
Youlhwadang Publishing House
in Paju Bookcity
After
the Paju Bookcity Design Guide was completed in the
summer of 1999, individual publishers were deciding
where to build their own buildings at Paju. Mr. Yi,
the president of Youlhwadang asked us to design his
publishing house with the help of Prof. Kim Jong Kyu,
M.A.R.U. He wanted it to set an example for other publishers
in the ways it materializes the landscape strategies
of the Bookcity, Youlhwadang needed to demonstrate the
ideas in the Paju Design Guide as clearly as possible.
Youlhwadang is a publisher of extremely well crafted
books about Korean culture. These books were setting
a high standard for the architectural design of the
building.
A
small agricultural building that we had seen on a visit
to Jeju Island inspired the design. This was a black
polythene fabric stretched over a steel frame in a walled
yard built of Jeju Island basalt volcanic stone. The
Korean idea of emptiness, the Korean idea about the
color black, and the idea of the Bookcity buildings
as an urban script in the landscape somehow lead to
the strategy of carving the shape of the building out
of an imaginary black box. Therefore, all the faces
of the building that come to the perimeter of this box
are black and the faces within the perimeter are transparent.
All the madangs (outdoor rooms) have transparent faces
and so have the long faces of the pavilion on top. These
are the carved out surfaces. One walks through
a hard blackness into a carved out soft
transparency. It is our sculptural strategy.
The
concept of space of the Youlhwadang building can be
described as a cluster of studio houses arranged around
several courtyards or madangs. The building is composed
of 2 studio houses on the street side, currently with
exhibition uses, that are connected by the entrance
madang, and 2 studio houses on the river side, currently
with office uses, each with its own courtyard, and the
house of the writers in residence, also on the street
side. The studio houses are also differentiated by colors.
The walls and the bookshelves are painted in colors
similar to the palette used by the Italian painter of
Bologna of the 40 s and the 50 s, Giorgio Morandi.
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Kim
Jong-kyu, Philip Christou and Florian Beigel,
the architects of Youlhwadang Publishing
House, and Yi Ki-ung, the president
of the
Publisher. (from the left) 2004.
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He
uses very subtle and soft colors. At least, one of the
walls of every room is a wall of light. These walls
of light are built of light diffusing material. And
Youlhwadang building is a house of good rooms, where
one goes from room to room, including madangs. It is
not a house with an open plan and it not a house of
corridors and rooms. It is very flexible in use and
at the same time has strong architectural identity.
We
think people can intuitively understand this form finding
strategy and we hope that the building finds good acceptance.
April
2004,
Florian Beigel and Philip Christou
¡èTop
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