Lee Keun-bok: profile of traditional roof-tiler

Roof-tilers working with tiles during the restoration work for Sungnyemun Gate, which was destroyed in a 2008 arson attack. Lee Keun-bok is one of the several traditional artisans that took part in the recovery work.
/ Korea TImes file

By KIm Ji-soo

Lee Keun-bok's eyes were bloodshot; he said he was up all night with acquaintances. As head of the Korean Cultural Properties Craftsmen Association and the nation's sole-recognized roof-tiler, Lee often travels throughout the nation to attend to both public and personal calls of duty.

The roof of "hanok" or traditional Korean houses looks like an open book turned over, as the tiles are laid in a cross-cross fashion. While the carpenters build the edifice, the roof-tilers finish it, creating serene curves on the roof. Roof-tilers have been around for centuries and were responsible for the marvelous roofs of landmarks such as Gyeongbok Palace and Changdeok Palace, which date back to the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910).

The art of the curve, as roof-tilers like to say, entails dealing with dirt and danger. "Roof-tiling, it's about dealing with dirt, stones and slopes, so not many young people are interested in it," said Lee, 64, in an interview with The Korea Times.

This image shows piles of tiles.

But the craft has become an important part of his life. His face lights up when talking about it, encouraging listeners to take interest in what he has to say.

"The curved line of the roof is the first thing one sees from afar. It determines the beauty and grandeur of the house," Lee said. "Also, the roof tiles and how they are laid determine how long the wooden Korean houses will last," said Lee, adding that well-laid tiles prevent rainwater from slipping through the wooden rafters and pillars that uphold Korean houses.

While tiled-roof houses were previously reserved for the aristocrat in the old days and the well-off until the early 1980s, they are making a comeback, with local governments around the nation building hanok neighborhoods or hanok-style hotels and other buildings. This means busier days for Lee, the nation's only recognized "beonwajang" or roof-tiler.

Traditional roof-tiler Lee Keun-bok is seen laying down the concave tile in this file photo. / Courtesy of Lee Keun-bok

For Lee, a native of Imsil, North Jeolla Province, roof-tiling started out as a means to a living. His father was a housebuilder, so becoming a roof-tiler was a logical choice for a profession.

"In the old days, this job meant carrying up soil and roof tiles on Korean A-framers or wooden back-pack to carry weight from the ground to the roof all day," said Lee.

He realized early on that unless one had outstanding roof-tiling skills, one could not be promoted or get a pay raise. So while his "seonbae" or senior colleagues took breaks during a work day, Lee went up the roof to redo their work that he felt still needed improvement. Having excellent skills meant that one's daily wage would rise by as much as five times, something that Lee needed at the time because he had a wife and two sons. He said even today, there are roof-tilers who are older than him but who still do entry-level work because they did not acquire advanced skills.

The working conditions for a roof-tiler were tough.

The Geunjeongjeon Hall of Gyeongbok Palace, one of the numerous national treasures Lee restored and recovered

"Even in the early 1980s when I was working on the roof tiles for the Bongeun Temple in Samseong-dong, Seoul, we had no safety nets, so if anyone slipped, it meant either a serious injury or death," Lee said. He, luckily, did not suffer any accidents, but many of his colleagues did. Lee said standing on the roof is never a facile task, even for a veteran like him. "You have to get used to the slope."

His work starts on the slope. His first task is to place thin woven wood strips or woven branches on top of the rafters and fill in the roof with earth and wood pieces to shape the roof slope. Then, he carves the "yeonham" or wooden guides that lock the curved tiles together.

"The carpenters may be better at making something in straight lines, but we roof-tilers are best in carving something in a circular shape," Lee said.

The Bongeun Temple in Samseong-dong, Seoul, which Lee worked on in the early 1980s.

After making the yeonham, he connects the "female" or concave tiles first and then the "male" or the convex tiles and then installs the wooden base on the top by hand. Finally, the roof-tiler mixes soil and lime to connect the tiles. Despite some modernization such as using heavy equipment in delivering soil to the roof, Lee said that the connecting of the tiles is still done by hand. The tiles are now standardized into small, medium and large with the medium being 30 centimeters wide and 36 centimeters long. Only three centimeters make the difference between the small, the medium and the large.

It's also a process that requires working in harmony with the carpenters and the tile-makers. He said he has often asked the carpenters, who provide the wooden framework, and the tile-makers to support the tiles so that he can connect the tiles tightly and elegantly. Lee also said he learned humility and teamwork from this process.

The government granted him his roof-tiler's license in 1986 and designated him as a Cultural Asset in 2008.

As hanok became less popular starting in the early 1980s and as massive apartment complexes began to appear, Lee said he felt that his job may be obliterated. But now, with hanok on the rise again, he and his two sons are able to continue the craft.

He has worked on numerous restorations of Korean cultural heritage sites such as the Sungnyemun; the five palaces of the Joseon Kingdom — the Gyeongbok, Changdeok, Deoksu, Changgyeong and Gyeonghui palaces; a hall in the Bongjeong Temple in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province; and a museum for the Kuin Temple in Danyang, North Gyeongsang Province.

Lee has established a training center in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, where he teaches those willing to learn the hard work that he has done for 44 years. He said he is also open to teaching foreigners interested in learning the craft.

The Korean Cultural Properties Craftsmen Association will hold an exhibition from Oct. 16 through Oct. 29 at the Heungnyemun Gate inside Gyeongbok Palace in Seoul.