Koreans and Ondol are indivisible relation as Koreans are born and pass away in Ondol.Ondol has originated from the way of cooking and heating in burning stones on the northern Korean peninsula and the northeast of China since the prehistoric age.American architect,F.L.Wright said that the feeling about Korean Ondol is like warm spring,so he felt too comfortable,and couldn’t feel to heat and the hot air anywhere.That means Ondol is not the heating air but the heating by the radiant heat.Ondol was initially invented to heat in the cold area and mainly the people of the lower classes used.It spread increasingly to the upper classes after the middle of Goryeo period and positively to the royal family in the Joseon Dynasty period.As a result,Ondol became a decisive factor in the formation of the community culture(culture of the inner room)and the culture of the sit-down meal,and also it has become huge factors in the conventional ceremony or etiquette and in deciding the making tools and an art form,and moreover in raising the productivity.All things considered,Ondol is inseparably related to the formation of Koreans’life.However,the construction form gets changed and the life of the sit-down meal has turned to the life of the stand-up meal by experiencing the western culture and being emphasized individualism.And it’s the reason why the value of Ondol has changed,but the use of Ondol isn’t relatively decreasing because the utility of Ondol corresponds with the modern life well.Recently,Ondol has been utilized variously not only the house heating but also the cultivation of plants and animals.In particular,the building materials of Korean-style house(Hanok)and Ondol can get over many of the problems in the modern construction,and so Hanok and Ondol will position pro-ecological architecture.I hope that moderns who set the best goal of the healthful life will learn the values and the wisdom through these things.
