A ''pyeong'' (abbreviationpy) is a Korean unit of

area Area is the measure of a region's size on a surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while '' surface area'' refers to the area of an open surface or the boundary of a three-di ...

and floorspace, equal to a square '' kan'' or 36square

Korean feet Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, people from the Korean peninsula or of Korean descent * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Korean **Korean dialects **See also: North–South differences in t ...

. The ''ping'' and ''tsubo'' are its equivalent Taiwanese and Japanese units, similarly based on a square '' bu'' ( ja:步) or '' ken'', equivalent to 36square Chinese or Japanese feet.

Current use

Korea

In Korea, the period of Japanese occupation produced a ''pyeong'' of or 3.3058m². It is the standard traditional measure for real estate floorspace, with an average

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

reckoned as about 25''pyeong'', a

studio apartment A studio apartment, or studio Condominium, condo also known as a studio flat (United Kingdom, UK), self-contained apartment (Nigeria, Ghana), efficiency apartment, bed-sitter (Kenya), or bachelor apartment, is a small apartment, dwelling in ...

as 8–12py, and a garret as 1½py. In

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

, the unit has been officially banned since 1961 but with little effect prior to the criminalization of its commercial use effective 1 July 2007.. Informal use continues, however, including in the form of real estate use of unusual fractions of meters equivalent to unit amounts of ''pyeong''. Real estate listings on major websites such as Daum show measurements in square meters with the ''pyeong'' equivalent.

Taiwan

In Taiwan, the Taiwanese ''ping'' was introduced in the period of

Taiwan under Japanese rule The Geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, together with the Penghu, Penghu Islands, became an annexed territory of the Empire of Japan in 1895, when the Qing dynasty ceded Taiwan Province, Fujian-Taiwan Province in the Treaty of Shimonoseki a ...

, which remains in fairly common use and is about 3.305m².

Japan

In Japan, the usual measure of real estate floorspace is the ''

tatami are soft mats used as flooring material in traditional Japanese-style rooms. They are made in standard sizes, twice as long as wide, about , depending on the region. In martial arts, tatami are used for training in a dojo and for competition. ...

'' and the ''tsubo'' is reckoned as two ''tatami''. The ''tatami'' varies by region but the modern standard is usually taken to be the

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...

''tatami'' of about 1.653m², producing a ''tsubo'' of 3.306m². It is sometimes reckoned as comprising 10 gō.

China

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, the

metrication Metrication or metrification is the act or process of converting to the metric system of measurement. All over the world, countries have transitioned from local and traditional Unit of measurement, units of measurement to the metric system. This ...

of traditional units would produce a ''ping'' of 4m², but it is almost unknown, with most real estate floorspace simply reckoned in square meters. The longer length of the

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

foot The foot (: feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is an organ at the terminal part of the leg made up o ...

produces a larger ''ping'' of almost 5m², but it is similarly uncommon.

References

{{Reflist Systems of units Units of area Culture of Korea