Bae Hee-han

Bae Hee-han (裵喜漢, June 19, 1907 - November 5, 1997) was a South Korean master carpenter who built hanok.[1]  He built Donamjang.[2][3]  In 1982, he was designated as the functional holder of Daemokjang (대목장(大木匠)), the 74th South Korean Important Intangible Cultural Property.[1]

Bae Hee-han
Hangul
Hanja
Revised RomanizationBae Huihan
McCune–ReischauerBae Hŭihan

Life

He was born in Seoul, 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.[4]  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.[1]  In 1939, at the age of 31, he built Donamjang, the home of former eunuch Song Seong-jin, and home to Syngman Rhee for two years.[5][6]

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.[1] 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."[7]:182

Work

Bae Hee-han is often called "the last Joseon carpenter"[8] 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.[7]: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

Disciples

Go Taek-young, who learned carpentry from him, was designated as a master builder in 1997[9] (holder of Daemokjang (대목장(大木匠)), the 74th South Korean Important Intangible Cultural Property).

References
  1. "배희한(裵喜漢) Heehan Bae (裵喜Han)". encykorea.aks.ac.kr (in Korean). Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  2. 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).
  3. 1939년 31살 때 내시였던 송성진의 집인 돈암장을 지었다.
  4. 명인명장 <23> 대목장 배희한옹, 매일경제, 1982년 6월 12일
  5. "국가등록문화재 서울 돈암장 (서울 敦岩莊) : 국가문화유산포털 - 문화재청 National Registered Cultural Property: Seoul Donamjang (Seoul 敦岩莊)". Heritage Portal : CULTURAL HERITAGE ADMINISTRATION (in Korean). Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  6. "[조용헌 살롱] 장급(莊級)저택의 주인들 [Cho Yong-heon Salon] Owners of Jang-Geop's Mansion". 조선일보 (in Korean). 4 August 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  7. Kim Byung-jong (김병종) (2005). Kim Byung-jong's Travels in Painting (김병종의 화첩기행). Hyohyeong Publishing(효형출판). ISBN 978-89-5872-008-9
  8. Hanmadang- Lee Heung-woo - Gyeongbok Palace Haejungjeong, Kukmin Daily, November 25, 2013
  9. "[부고]'대목장' 보유자 고택영씨 별세 Obituary: Go Taek-Young". 동아일보 (in Korean). 20 December 2004. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
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