[ZOOM KOREA] Master craftsman preserves beauty of hanok windows and doors

Ga Poong-kook, a government-certified master, has dedicated his life to making the intricate windows and doors of traditional Korean houses. His craftsmanship preserves the beauty of hanok.

Ga Poong-kook, a government-certified master of traditional wooden windows and doors, works on his recent creation at his studio located in Wanggil-dong, Seo District in Incheon. [PARK SANG-MOON]

The beauty of hanok, a traditional Korean house, is made complete by changho, meaning windows and doors.

The intricately patterned windows and doors are not only found in hanok houses but also in palaces and temples, exuding the beauty and elegance of our ancestors. It is not an exaggeration to say that 80 percent of the beauty of hanok comes from its windows and doors. The patterns created by muntin grids on the windows add a different ambience to the traditional house.

The traditional windows and doors are produced by joining wood panels without the usage of glue and nails, making them long-lasting and resistant to deformation.

Enchanted by the beauty of traditional wooden windows and doors, Ga Poong-kook, a government-certified master, spent his whole life making the two key components of hanok.

A patented door of Ga, which has tree rings [PARK SANG-MOON]

The 76-year-old master whose certification number is 389 was hugely influenced by his father who was a scholar of the Chinese classics. He grew up studying Chinese literature. Even when little, he was good at reading and memorizing the Analects of Confucius and Mencius but stopped studying after his family faced sudden financial difficulties.

He barely graduated from elementary school and couldn’t advance to an institution of higher learning. As a dropout with no one to play with, Ga spent most of his time making and playing with wood. Thanks to his elder brother who worked at a carpenter’s shop, Ga got the knack of woodworking at an early age.

After completing mandatory military service, Ga began learning carpentry. He spent day and night studying techniques needed in the field as well as the basic theories of woodwork. He also got relevant certificates while studying.

Of all the subgenres of woodworking, Ga was especially interested in windows and doors. Thus he landed a job at a Japanese company when he was 28 to learn more about traditional Japanese techniques in making wooden windows and doors. With the techniques he learned there, Ga was able to reproduce the conventional Japanese windows and doors of Gyeongmudae in Daejeon six years ago. Gyeongmudae refers to the residences of presidents. Traditional Japanese windows open up and down but there was no one to produce those except Ga. The master also reproduced up to 200 Japanese windows of the Incheon Post Office when the building was renovated. It was originally built in 1923 during the Japanese colonial period.

Ga also took part in a project to build a summer house for Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, the king of Iran, in 1976 by working as a manager of the international project.

The artisan wanted to master the traditional techniques in making windows and doors, so he decided to work under Kim Sun-ki, an intangible asset in Gyeonggi for his techniques in traditional windows and doors. Ga worked for two years under Kim, well known for his strict discipline. Ga recalls him as the best teacher ever.

Kkotsalmun, meaning a wooden door with flower patterns, created by Ga [PARK SANG-MOON]

Ga was designated as a master in wooden windows and doors in 2004. Since then, he has been dedicated to the reproduction and maintenance of cultural heritages. He participated in the repair work of Gyeonghoeru Pavilion at Gyeongbok Palace, and worked on structures inside Changdeok Palace and Unhyeon Palace with his teacher.

He also participated in the face-lift of major historic buildings such as the Gyeonggyojang, a residence used by Kim Ku, an independent activist and politician, as well as Ihwajang House, a private residence of the inaugural president Syngman Rhee, and the house of composer Hong Nan-pa.

An educational material created by Ga, which has 100 samples of native trees [PARK SANG-MOON]

Of all the things he has created so far, Ga takes great pride in wooden doors with some growth rings on them. Unlike other doors, the tree's growth rings are made visible on the doors for decorative purposes. He got a patent for the specific door, an accumulation of his years of expertise, knowledge, and techniques. He got the inspiration for the door from a dream he had one day. It took him 10 years to produce the door because growth rings needed to be preserved without deformity, involving him in every step from collecting the trees to drying the wood.

Since he was young, Ga has been especially fond of trees. He even remembers the name and the life cycle of a tree that he saw only once. Based on his vast knowledge of trees, he made educational materials exhibiting 100 samples of native trees and donated them to related organizations.

With more people interested in eco-friendly ways of architecture, hanok has been attracting more attention than ever in recent years. As a person who inherits and develops traditional techniques, Ga takes great pride in what he does.

BY PARK SANG-MOON [park.sangmun@joongang.co.kr]