No, this isn’t Brussels. This is the Great Peace Hall, an auditorium on the campus of Seoul’s Kyung Hee University. It is a full-scale replica of the medieval Cathedral of Saint Michael and Gudula. Construction was completed in 1999, coinciding w/ the school’s 50th anniversary. pic.twitter.com/jNLCO2bF6c
I compared this photo with photos of the original since the Korean one was built for a secular purpose. Sure enough, some of the iconography has been changed. Very interesting to see that the Korean builders (I assume they were Korean) would follow a specifically Catholic architecture so closely… then change a few details to make this not-a-church. I don’t say any of that out of anger or to to complain: people can do what they please. I just find it interesting. In fact, the changes make the building more compelling to me, and now, I want to visit the university.
Of course, looked at from a wider perspective, the use and conversion of buildings and designs has been going on for centuries, so this is nothing new, really. I know it’s not quite the same situation, but look at the history of the Hagia Sophia, how it went from Christian church to Muslim mosque to museum to mosque again. People appropriate. That’s why, to me, “appropriation” isn’t a bad word. Appropriation is just something that happens in history—an inevitability. This new structure at Kyung Hee Dae is the latest example.
setnaffa
1 year ago
Wait… Is this place connected to R’lyeh? That is one odd-looking bas-relief on the stairs leading to the “peace palace”…
Do any of the students whisper things like “Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn“?
How long did they take to build it?
I compared this photo with photos of the original since the Korean one was built for a secular purpose. Sure enough, some of the iconography has been changed. Very interesting to see that the Korean builders (I assume they were Korean) would follow a specifically Catholic architecture so closely… then change a few details to make this not-a-church. I don’t say any of that out of anger or to to complain: people can do what they please. I just find it interesting. In fact, the changes make the building more compelling to me, and now, I want to visit the university.
Of course, looked at from a wider perspective, the use and conversion of buildings and designs has been going on for centuries, so this is nothing new, really. I know it’s not quite the same situation, but look at the history of the Hagia Sophia, how it went from Christian church to Muslim mosque to museum to mosque again. People appropriate. That’s why, to me, “appropriation” isn’t a bad word. Appropriation is just something that happens in history—an inevitability. This new structure at Kyung Hee Dae is the latest example.
Wait… Is this place connected to R’lyeh? That is one odd-looking bas-relief on the stairs leading to the “peace palace”…
Do any of the students whisper things like “Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn“?