Bae Hee-han (; June 19, 1907 - November 5, 1997) was a South Korean master carpenter who built

hanok A (; name in South Korea) or ''chosŏnjip'' (; name in North Korea and for Koreans in Yanbian, China), is a traditional Korean house. were first designed and built in the 14th century during the Joseon dynasty. Korean architecture conside ...

. He built the Donamjang house.Jeong Seong-hee. “An Analysis of Changes in Korean House Gardens in the 1930s”. 《Master's Thesis in Landscape Architecture》 (Seoul National University Graduate School).1939년 31살 때 내시였던 송성진의 집인 돈암장을 지었다. In 1982, he was designated as the holder of

Daemokjang ''Daemokjang'' (; alternatively Daimokjang) is a style of traditional Korean wooden architecture and a term for the woodworking artisans who create it. The word literally means ''carpenter''. ''Mokjang'' means woodworker, and are divided into ''S ...

(대목장(大木匠)), the 74th South Korean Important Intangible Cultural Property.

Life

He was born in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, on June 10, 1907. (The family register indicates 1909.) In 1923, when he was 17, he quit Seonrin Commercial High School and became apprenticed to the Japanese carpenter Oda.명인명장 <23> 대목장 배희한옹
매일경제, 1982년 6월 12일 In 1921, before quitting his studies, he had already started working as a carpenter at the Railway Bureau of the Japanese Government-General of Korea . At the age of 18, he received traditional carpentry lessons from Choi Won-shik, who was the great carpenter of the Royal palace, at the demolition site of Daejojeon Hall. He built many houses for high-ranking officials, such as the Sarangchae for Min Yeong-hwi 's house in

Samcheong-dong Samcheong-dong () is a '' dong'' (neighbourhood) of Jongno District, Seoul, South Korea. It lies north of Jongno and east of Gyeongbokgung. This hilly neighborhood is characterized by numerous small art galleries, shops, and restaurants. Visit ...

. In 1939, at the age of 31, he built Donamjang, the home of former eunuch Song Seong-jin, and home to

Syngman Rhee Syngman Rhee (; 26 March 1875 – 19 July 1965), also known by his art name Unam (), was a South Korean politician who served as the first president of South Korea from 1948 to 1960. Rhee was also the first and last president of the Provisiona ...

for two years. In 1959, after liberation from Japanese colonial rule, he repaired Haejungjeong and Hyangwonjeong Pavilion in Gyeongbokgung Palace, and built many temple buildings. In December 1980, he was recognized as a traditional carpentry craftsman through the 《Special Extended Exhibition of Woodworking》 held at the National Folk Museum of Korea, and in 1982, he became a master of intangible cultural heritage. He died on November 5, 1997. Bae Hee-han did not fight or drink alcohol unlike his mentor, nor did he earn much money. He himself said, "There is no original money coming to people who live off dead trees."^:182

Work

Bae Hee-han is often called "the last

Joseon Joseon ( ; ; also romanized as ''Chosun''), officially Great Joseon (), was a dynastic kingdom of Korea that existed for 505 years. It was founded by Taejo of Joseon in July 1392 and replaced by the Korean Empire in October 1897. The kingdom w ...

carpenter" because he studied under Choi Won-sik, the last carpenter of the Joseon royal family. Painter Kim Byeong-jong evaluates Bae Hee-han's architecture as simple but solid and thorough. ^:177 Hanoks he built include the following. * 1927 Kim Ik-bae Brothers House * Kim Jae-eun's house in 1935 * 1936 Old Yuseong Villa * 1939 Donamjang (Song Seong-jin's house) * Choi Gi-tae's house in 1940 * 1942 Choi Chang-hak House * 1966 Yeomburam, Gwacheon, Gyeonggi-do * 1967 Long Temple, Seongbuk-dong, Seoul * 1969 Guamsa Temple in Bongcheon-dong * 1974 Naval Academy Patriotic History * Seo Se-ok House in 1976 Thumb 등록문화재제91호 서울돈암장 돈암장좌전경.jpg, Donamjang House Gyeongbok_Palace,_Seoul.15.jpg, Hyangwonjeong Pavilion, Gyeongbokgung Palace Korea-Gyeongju-Sarangchae-02.jpg, Sarangchae

Disciples

Go Taek-young, who learned carpentry from him, was designated as a master builder in 1997 (holder of

(대목장(大木匠)), the 74th South Korean Important Intangible Cultural Property).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bae, Hee-han Carpenters Architecture in Korea 1997 deaths 1907 births People from Seoul