Ondol

An illustration of the ondol system
Ondol
Hangul 온돌 / 구들
Revised Romanization ondol / gudeul
McCune–Reischauer ondol / kudŭl

An ondol (Hangul: 온돌), also called gudeul (Hangul: 구들), 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, supported by stone piers or baffles to distribute the smoke, is covered by stone slabs, clay and an impervious layer such as oiled paper.

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 1000 BC, discovered in Unggi, Hamgyeongbuk-do, in present-day Korea, shows a clear vestige of gudeul in the excavated dwelling (Hangul: 움집) unearthed at the archaeological site.

Early ondols began as gudeul that contained the furnace/cooking stove in the building. With the evolution of the structure, the furnace was moved entirely outdoors to prevent overheating in the summer and reduce indoor smoke. As well, entire rooms would be built on the furnace flue to create ondol floored rooms.[1]

Etymology

The term gudeul has been colloquially spoken for over two thousand years, and called by many alternate names (janggaeng (Hangul: 장갱; hanja: 長坑), hwagaeng (Hangul: 화갱; hanja: 火坑), nandol (Hangul: 난돌; hanja: 暖突), yeondol (Hangul: 연돌; hanja: 烟突)); the term ondol was introduced around the end of 19th century.[2] According to a Korean folkloric historian Son Jintae (1900 - missing during the 1950-53 Korean War), gudeul originated from guun-dol (Korean), which means "heated stone", and its pronunciation 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 as a living space for sitting, eating, sleeping and pastimes in most Korean homes before the 1960s. Unlike the western style, Koreans are accustomed to sitting on the floor, sleeping on the floor, and working and eating at low tables instead of raised tables with chairs.[3] 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 (two to five 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.

The Ondol, which is the radiant floor heating system, was suitable to the lifestyle of the Koreans. One famous American architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, was building a hotel in Japan. One day, he was invited to one Japanese family’s house. The owner of the house experienced the ondol in Korea, and he could not forgot, so he built an ondol room in his house. Wright was impressed very much by ondol, that he invented radiant floor heating which does not use hot air, but uses hot water to heat up floor. This system applied to Wright’s buildings. Instead of ondol-hydronic radiant floor heating, the modern-day houses such as high-rise apartments have a developed version of the ondol system. Many architects know the advantages and benefits of ondol, and they are using ondol in various different methods in modern houses. Since the ondol has been introduced to many countries in the world, it is beginning to be considered as one of the systems of home heating. The ondol which are used these days are not same with the original version. Almost all of the Korean use the developed version system, so it is hard to find the traditional ondol system in Korean houses.[4][5]

Advantages and Disadvantages

Western world. First of all, the ondol can maintain heat for a very long time, even though the fire has dimmed down. At Hanok, the traditional Korean house, people usually extinguish the fire during night, when they are sleeping. But the warmth is maintained until the morning comes. Also, different from the radiator, the ondol conducts heat to the whole room equally. Although the location that is close to the Agungi is much warmer than other areas, the whole room becomes warm equally. Comparing with the western radiator, the heat from the radiator just stays up in the room towards the ceiling, but ondol, keep both the floor and air in the room warm. The other strength point of the ondol is that people do not have to worry about breakdown and repair of the ondol. The ondol is part of the house, therefore, they do not have some troubles to fix. Ondol is economical system. Any dry materials could be used as the fuel for fire of Ondol. Therefore, there is no specific fuel needed. Also, people could use the ashes that occur from Ondol as fertilizer, which makes Ondol an environmentally friendly system. Ondol also has the advantage that it is good for people’s health. Different from the heaters such as fireplaces or charcoal based heaters that leave ash in the room, there is no pollution in the room. The Ondol leaves the room clean and warm. In addition, there is a Korean saying that you should keep your head cool, and feet warm so that you could be healthy. According to this saying, Ondol makes the hands and feet of people warm efficiently, so that the blood circulation becomes actively to make their body healthier. People can take off their shoes, stretch and warm their feet on the warm floor. The ondol is also good for health due to the function that could keep the humidity low, and the clay which is one of the material that compose the ondol.[6][7]

On the other hand, Ondol have some of disadvantages. Mud and stones are one of the main materials that compose the ondol, and due to the characteristics of mud and stones, which is they took many times to become hot, it takes quite a lot of time to make a room heat up. In addition, it is difficult to adjust the temperature of the room.[8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.healthyheating.com/History_of_Radiant_Heating_and_Cooling/History_of_Radiant_Heating_and_Cooling_Part_1.pdf
  2. ↑ Etymology of ondol
  3. ↑ Donald N., Clark (2000). Culture and Customs of Korea. GreenwoodPress. p. 94. ISBN 0313304564.
  4. ↑ "Ondol—A Unique Home Heating System — Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY". wol.jw.org. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  5. ↑ "Traditional Korean Heating System". www.antiquealive.com. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  6. ↑ "All That Korea: Ondol, the very unique Korean heating system". atkorea.blogspot.kr. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  7. ↑ "미디어광장 - 메인". www.hanyang.ac.kr. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  8. ↑ "All That Korea: Ondol, the very unique Korean heating system". atkorea.blogspot.kr. Retrieved 2016-04-10.

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