The residential characteristics of indigenous families in the eupchies in the late Joseon era: cases from the Yeonsan and Hansan eupchies

Abstract

Spatial research on the eupchi is an important area of traditional Korean urban research. Previous studies generally focused on the spatial arrangement of the chiso in the eupchi. However, to understand the eupchi, we need to study different types of spaces in the eupchi and their functions. Thus, this study focuses on housing spaces rather than chiso. The purpose of this study is to investigate the residential characteristics of indigenous families who comprised the top local officials. In analyzing the spatial distribution of housing lots according to their attribution, the result derived as follows. First, less than two percent of the social class to which the aristocrats called yangban belonged lived in the eupchi at the end of the Joseon era. This two percent consisted of only representative indigenous families. Second, unlike other families, they also clustered on one side of the chiso and had the largest space for a community and the greatest housing density in the eupchi. This likely reflects the power of indigenous families in the local towns in a physical form. The primary merit of this study is that it sheds light on the socio-spatial characteristics of indigenous families in the eupchi in the late Joseon era.