The Olympic idea originated in the hilly region of Olympia, a sanctuary of ancient Greece on the Peloponnese peninsula. Every four years, from the 8th century BCE until the 4th century CE, the Olympic Games of the classical antiquity were organized here, at the base of the revered Mount Kronos. The Korean peninsula, like Greece, is a …
The Shinan Islands – or the ‘1,004 Islands’ – are located in the southwest of South Korea, in Sinan County (Sinan-gun), which is a part of the South Jeolla Province. In the fall, as tourism slows down on the islands, the harvest season sets in. It becomes a wonderful contemplative environment during that time, with a …
The Docomomo International Specialist Committee on Urbanism & Landscape (Docomomo ISC/U+L) published the Conference Proceedings on “Inventorisation of Modern Heritage – Urbanism and Landscape” which took place at the Edinburgh Collage of Art on 13 March 2014. The proceedings include an article by Jan Haenraets on ‘Recognition and Documentation of Modern Movement Landscapes in Asia’, which …
Annual surveys and lists of ‘World’s most liveable cities’ each differ but there are some clear trends from which interesting lessons can be learned. These ‘World’s most liveable cities’ surveys indicate for instance how heritage, nature and qualitative open spaces are key factors in making cities healthy environments for living. This brief article wonders how a reconnection …
Wybe Kuitert analyses in this article how the early historical settlement and development of Seoul, which started in the 1390s, had a strong connection with the natural landscape, and how this is still readable in the landscape. Particularly Seoul’s rolling hills were favourable and secure places to live. In contrast many water-induced areas and flood …
The Tripitaka Koreana is one of the most complete Buddhist scriptures and are housed at the Haensa Temple. They consist of 81,258 printing woodblocks of about 70x24cm. It took the craftsmen 16 years, from 1236 to 1251 to complete the carving. The depository building, the ‘Janggyeong Panjeon’ consists of two main buildings and while simple …
