- Ondol
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Ondol Hangul 온돌 / 구들 Hanja 溫突 Revised Romanization ondol / gudeul McCune–Reischauer ondol / kudŭl An ondol, also called gudeul, in Korean traditional architecture, is underfloor heating which uses direct heat transfer from wood smoke to the underside of a thick masonry floor. In modern usage it refers to any type of underfloor heating, or a hotel or sleeping room in Korean (as opposed to Western) style.
The main components of the traditional ondol are a firebox or stove (agungi; 아궁이) accessible from an adjoining (typically kitchen or master bedroom) room, a raised masonry floor underlain by horizontal smoke passages, and a vertical, freestanding chimney on the opposite exterior providing a draft. The heated floor is supported by stone piers or baffles to distribute the smoke, covered by stone slabs, clay and an impervious layer such as oiled paper.
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high exhaust vents jutting sideways
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Chimney for fumes
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Chimney
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Exhaust vents as sideways-oriented pipes
Contents
History
Origin
The earliest use of ondol has been found at an archaeological site in present-day North Korea. A Bronze Age archaeological find, circa BCE 1000, discovered in Unggi, Hamgyeongbuk-do, in present-day North Korea, shows a clear vestige of Gudeul(Korean: 구들) in the Excavated Dwelling (Korean:움집 Chinese:竪穴住居) unearthed at the archaeological site. [1]
Etymology
The term Gudeul has been colloquially spoken for over two thousand years, while the term ondol has shown up in modern times, around the end of 19th century.[2] According to a Korean folkloric historian Son Jintae(1900 - missing during the 1950-53 Korean War), Gudeul has been originated from guun-dol(Korean), which means heated stone, and its pronuciation has undergone some change from Gudol or Gudul to finally take the form of Gudeul. Ondol was first written in Hanja by modern-day writers.
Use
Ondol had traditionally been used with a living space for sitting, eating, sleeping and pastimes, in most Korean homes before the 1960s. The furnace burned mainly rice paddy straws, agricultural crop waste, biomass or any kind of dried firewood. For short-term cooking, rice paddy straws or crop waste was preferred, while long hours of cooking and floor heating needed longer-burning firewood. Unlike modern-day water heaters, the fuel burning was either sporadically or regularly done (2 to 5 times a day), dependent on frequency of cooking and seasonal weather conditions.
With the traditional ondol heating, floor spots closer to the furnace were normally warm enough with warmer spots reserved for elders and honored guests. Ondol had problems such as carbon monoxide poisoning resulting from burning coal briquette, and environmental pollution. For these reasons, other technology heats modern Korean homes.
See also
- Korean architecture
- List of Korea-related topics
- Culture of Korea
- Hypocaust
- Gloria (heating system)
- Kang bed-stove
- Masonry heater
- Underfloor heating
References
External links
Categories:- Korean architecture
- Heating, ventilating, and air conditioning
- Energy in South Korea
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