The core idea of the critical regionalism could be summarized as a self-conscious synthesis between universal civilization and world culture. After World War Ⅱ, it has been applied to architecture for overcoming the problem of Industrial Capitalism and uniformity of 20th century Modern Architecture. Naturally, religious architecture cannot also be an exception in this cultural trend, thus we can also apply the critical regionalism to the Korean Catholic Church Architecture with the basic premise that the Traditional Western and Modern Style Church Architecture should be regarded as universal civilization, and the Traditional Korean Architecture and endemicity as one of world culture. In the context, this article attempts to analyze the regionality of Korean Modern Catholic Church Architecture constructed between the 19th century and 1980's, and how it has been differently transformed with the view of the critical regionalism. Its analysis will be carried out within three types; transformation of the Traditional Korean Architecture and the influence of Japanese Modern Architecture, representation of the Traditional Korean Architecture, and abstraction of the Traditional Korean Architecture with each advantages and disadvantages.

This study tries to analyze the development of architectural technologies appeared in several tall buildings and large spatial structures from 1955 to 1999 in Korea. We suppose that these buildings represent the development of technology in Korean modern architecture. By the detailed analysis of these buildings, we can arrive at a conclusion as such; During the years 1955-1999, there existed a great changement in the eighties. We can find this fact very well in the domain of structural system and curtain wall system. In large spatial structures, the structural-system of shell and steel truss dome was replaced by that of space frame, space truss and cable truss with membrane. In tall building, the structural system of rigid frame and shear wall was replaced by tubular system, core and outrigger system. Korean architects introduced the aluminum curtain wall in the sixties, but its low technological level caused many problems in reality. Therefore, precast concrete curtain wall appeared from seventies as the main method for an outer wall in tall building. With the augmentation of height after 1980, PC curtain wall was replaced by the aluminum curtain wall of unit type and structural glass wall system. These systems help to stress the transparency in a tall building.

The architecture developed in North Korea since its foundation in 1948 but especially since the proclamation of the Juche thought as the unique state ideology in the early 1960s, has included two major referential imaginaries: the Korean traditional architecture and the expression of the economic and technological progress. The presence of these imaginaries, mediated by the architectural language but also by the production policies, have oscillated throughout decades with varying intensity under the rule of each of the three Kims. The paper analyses different elements of traditionally and technologically inspired architecture, resumed in the title in two significative elements, the hapkak roof and the glass curtain wall, and looks into their transformation and modern interpretation in different times. The aim is to link the dominance of either of those imaginaries with the epoch and political discourses of Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Un, as tools for establishing the periodicity of contemporary North Korean architecture despite the omnipresent discourse of the national character of North Korean architecture. All three leaders have had strong influence on the architectural creation, understood as regimes’ most valuable propaganda device and have preferred one over another imaginary. It will also be interesting to link these variations with changes in the international architectural scene.