Hongsalmun
{{Short description|Traditional Korean gate}}
{{Infobox Korean name|
|img=Queen_Suro_Tomb3.JPG
|caption=The hongsalmun at the lleung Royal Tomb (Joseon dynasty royal tombs)
|hangul=홍살문
|hanja={{linktext|紅}}살{{linktext|門}}
|rr= Hongsalmun
|mr= Hongsalmun
}}
In architecture, a hongsalmun is a gate for entering a sacred place in Korea.{{cite book| year=2002| title=An Illustrated Guide to Korean Culture - 233 traditional key words| publisher=Hakgojae Publishing Co| location=Seoul| isbn=9788985846981| pages=186–87 | url-access=registration| url=https://archive.org/details/illustratedguide0000unse_j0p0/page/186}}{{cite web |url=http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_6.jsp?cid=779495 |title=A Trip to Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty |website=visitkorea |accessdate=June 12, 2010 |archive-date=February 4, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140204050334/http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_6.jsp?cid=779495 |url-status=dead }} Hongsalmun, also called hongjeonmun or hongmun,{{Cite book|last=Choi|first=Wan Gee|title=The Traditional Education of Korea|publisher=Ewha Womans University Press|year=2006|isbn=978-89-7300-675-5|language=en}} are usually erected to indicate Korean Confucian sites, such as shrines, tombs, and academies such as hyanggyo and seowon. The gate indicates entry to a sacred realm.{{Cite book|last=Jo|first=Myeong-hwa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bM2MCgAAQBAJ&q=hongsalmun&pg=PT25|title=1 Course Joseon Royal Tombs : Seonjeongneung|date=2014-05-07|publisher=테마여행신문 TTN Theme Travel News Korea|isbn=979-11-951699-5-5|language=ko}}
Features
Hongsalmun literally means ‘gate with red arrows’, referring to the set of pointed spikes on its top. In the past, spikes in between columns did not exist. The color is said to be red because of the belief that the color repels ghosts.{{Cite book|last=Koehler|first=Ben Jackson and Robert|title=Korean Architecture: Breathing with Nature|publisher=Seoul Selection|year=2015|isbn=978-1-62412-047-3|language=en}} The gate is composed of two round poles set vertically and two transverse bars. These pillars are usually over nine meters in height. There is no roof and no door-gate. In the middle top gate the symbol of the trident and the taegeuk image are placed.
The hongsalmun gate opens to a path that leads toward the front of hyanggyo and the hamabi or the "memorial dismount stone".{{Cite book|last1=Lee|first1=Sang-hae|title=Seowon: The Architecture of Korea's Private Academies|last2=Yi|first2=Sang-hae|publisher=Hollym|year=2005|isbn=978-1-56591-218-2|location=Seoul|pages=72|language=en}} The gate can also be found inside a seowon,{{Cite book|title=Urimunhwa December 2020|publisher=한국문화원연합회|year=2020|pages=16}} a privately owned complex that served as a Confucian shrine and preparatory school.
Gallery
{{gallery
|width=160
|height=120
|Image:Jeonju Gyeonggi-jeon cropped version.jpg|The hongsalmun at the shrine of the clan Yi of Jeonju
|Image:Hongsalmun(홍살문) of Illeung Royal Tomb (인능).jpg|The hongsalmun at the lleung Royal Tomb (Joseon dynasty royal tombs)}}
See also
References
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