Hanok - Korean Traditional House

Hanok is Korean traditional house or architecture. It is nature-friendly. There are different Hanoks.


1. a tile-roofed house

2. a thatched cottage

3. a shingle-roofed house

4. a log cabin

And there are many more types.

The most interesting and best part of Han Ok is Ondol. Ondol is a Korean heating system, which it was originated from the ancient kingdom of Goguryeo (37 B.C. ~ A.D. 668). It works bascially like this: a large stone under a living space. So, smoke from a fire is trapped under the stone and goes to the other side.

Ondol system has a distinct advantage, which is that even if you remove the direct source of heat, there still remains the heat for a quite long time.

However, one pretty dangerous disadvantage is that if an underfloor cracks so there is a gap, the smoke can rise up and cause 'carbon monoxide poisoning'. In addition, it takes a long time to heat up the floor to stay up a night.

Nontheless, this Ondol system is proven to has high thermal efficiency and therefore an economical way to heat the house. Nowadays, this system has been modified to modern housing by spreading pipes under floors and circulating heated water through the pipes reducing dangerous essences that could happen in the past.

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