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- E-Mideum Dental Clinic is one of the most conspicuous buildings in Bukchon, Seoul, where there are many traditional Korean houses. The Bukchon dental clinic was opened by Director Kim Yeong-hwan who served as the Minister of Science and Technology. It is said that the clinic created beautiful harmony between the country’s traditional culture and advanced-modern architecture and technology. It is a refreshing departure from the thought that a downtown clinic should naturally be placed in a modern building.
- Under the slogan “medical treatment is a part of culture,” the clinic has a professionally-lit art gallery in the building, which is also used as a space for patients waiting their turn for treatment. Many pieces of artwork hang on the walls of the treatment room. And so, e-Mideum Dental Clinic is regarded as a complex cultural venue that harmonizes the gallery and the dental clinic.
- Originally, the place was comprised of two “L”-shaped hanok buildings. Efforts were made not to change the original shape of the buildings, with the exception of the newly built bathroom to the left of the entrance and the courtyard covered with a transparent skylight.
- The wooden floor of the southern buildings enables visitors to rest and wait their turn, feeling the cool touch of the wood. The courtyard of the southern house functions as the calm background scenery of the waiting room. It is a space to feel tranquility of mind amid the busy daily schedule of the dental clinic.
- Even the treatment room where an array of hi-tech equipment is placed does not leave an oppressive atmosphere, as it is connected with, or open to, other spaces, which is a feature of hanok. The main wooden frame reveals the natural wood grains and shapes. And through the papered latticework of the doors and windows, outside light enters all so faintly. These characteristics appear to help patients feel much more at ease.
- Visitors feel as if the hanok, originally a residential building for a family, was built to be a dental clinic. It is an exceptional example of hanok accommodating such a rare function so naturally. Thus, visitors feel the building owner’s acute sense of art and insight. It is hoped that hanok will be utilized in many more diversified functions.
