The Spatial Structure of Power: Traditional Villages and Houses in Korea

Abstract

This paper is an attempt to understand the relationship between power and space constituted in traditional Korean society, a strictly status-oriented society. The author speculates on two traditional villages and houses within them. The analysis of the villages shows not only different patterns of spatial morphology but also different spatial strategies for consolidating power innate to each community. In Hahoe, with a spatial structure in the form of a concentric circle, the ruling class located their houses in more easily accessible and exposed spaces with the lower class's houses in secluded spaces. By contrast, in Yangdong, with its more complicated spatial and power structures, the ruling class appeared to locate their houses in an opposite way to that of Hahoe. The analysis of the positioning of important houses shows a basic principle of sustaining the power structure, that is, a strong congruence between consanguine hierarchy and spatial hierarchy. The analysis of the historical transition of the spatial structure of houses suggests a shift of power structure between male and female members within a family. The study clearly illustrates that a spatial structure can be understood as a historical text on which one can read a history of producing and sustaining the power structure within a society as shown in the analysis. The findings also imply that the power-space relationship can be meaningfully described only in its cultural context.