Ondol

An illustration of the ondol system

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.

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 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.^{[citation needed]}

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 (장갱 / 長坑), hwagaeng (화갱 / 火坑), nandol (난돌 / 暖突), yeondol (연돌 / 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 has been 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.

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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

See also

• Underfloor heating
• Korean architecture
• List of Korea-related topics
• Culture of Korea
• Hypocaust
• Gloria (heating system)
• Kang bed-stove
• Masonry heater
• Frank Lloyd Wright

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ondol.

• The Herbert Offen Research Collection of the Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex Museum