Keeping Warm in a Changing Place

Abstract

This study examines the Korean ondol, the major residential heating method in Korea, and its related house features, particularly the rich symbolic meanings and associated lifestyles. By doing so, this study strives to understand the social aspects of Korean life that are embedded in the structure of Korean residential buildings. The study collected data from (a) scholarly articles on the ondol, (b) popular media, and (c) 30 interviews with elderly Koreans. Qualitative content analysis of these data reveals several contested meanings associated with the Korean ondol: thermal contrast, social dynamics, incubation, practice of everyday life, rootedness, healing/well-being, ethnic identity, modernization, and labor. While the narratives from the interviewees were firmly anchored in real-life situations, the narratives of popular media and scholarly articles showed departures from everyday experiences when discussing the ondol, often romanticizing and associating this building feature with Korean ethnic identity.

The Floor: A Reinterpretation of the Korean Home, Focusing on the Ondol

“…The term social space here can be understood as a lived space or experienced space, emphasizing the body. The floor, as an integral part of the Korean house, interacts with the habitual activity that takes place on it, both symbolically and practically (Shin, 2012, p. 346). Ritual repetition contains the patterns of everyday activities, which demonstrate distinctive and unique forms of spatial use, representing typological usage.…”