Blog

Changho Stories

Stories about changho and hanok lattices, told by Workgroup Pyeongmok.

  1. Back at the Bench · No. 8 · 2026.10.13

    A Sense Doesn't Cross Over by Explanation

    A person with a good eye may not be able to prove it, but they can point and say, "Look here." Because people process the same thing differently, a sense for something can't be explained and handed over.

  2. The Changho Glossary · No. 16 · 2026.10.11

    Finishing & Maintenance | What to Apply, and When to Redo It

    Our windows and doors have the paper pasted on the inside face. That leaves the slats and stile-and-rail frame exposed outdoors, taking direct sun and rain. That alone puts them on different footing from a door like a shoji that stands entirely indoors — starting with how you even choose a finish.

  3. What the Eye Does, What the Mind Does · No. 6 · 2026.10.11

    The Color of Wood | Light Can Darken It, or Bleach It

    Freshly planed wood and wood that's been in use for years are different colors. Any carpenter knows this, but I'd rarely seen numbers for which species change how much, and in which direction. Leafing through a forestry textbook, I came across a table with exactly those numbers.

  4. What the Eye Does, What the Mind Does · No. 5 · 2026.10.10

    Shrinkage | Wood Shrinks Differently by Grain Direction

  5. What the Eye Does, What the Mind Does · No. 4 · 2026.10.10

    How to Read Wood

    This book doesn't open with dimensions. It doesn't open with joinery, either. Its first chapter, "Introduction," opens with how to read wood — seven pages, six sections, thirteen figures. Let's go through it in order.

  6. The Changho Glossary · No. 15 · 2026.10.09

    Slat Thickness | The Starting Point for Every Dimension

    Slat thickness is the first number in calculating a window or door's dimensions. Stile-and-rail width, tenon depth, and rabbet width are all derived from it.

  7. Back at the Bench · No. 7 · 2026.10.01

    The Palm Is an Eye, Too

    The camera was originally a drawing tool. Pierce a single hole in a pitch-dark room, and the scene outside is cast upside down on the opposite wall. Painters looked at it and traced it. They used it that way for hundreds of years. The projected image didn't stay, so it had to be carried over by hand.

  8. Back at the Bench · No. 6 · 2026.09.16

    Afraid I'm Thinking to Fit My Own Skill

    A tool is a means, not the goal. I know that story. I know it, and I still cut to fit the tool anyway.

  9. The Changho Glossary · No. 14 · 2026.08.23

    Small Changho | Baraji, Nukkup, Changgyeong

    A changho inside a changho. Sometimes a palm-sized opening is set high on a wall; sometimes a single lattice cell is built to open on its own. These small changho have plenty of names. But the names don't split cleanly from one another.

  10. The Changho Glossary · No. 13 · 2026.08.23

    Changho Built into the Wall | Bongchang, Salchang, Gwangchang, Deulchang

    It's easy to assume a changho is always something joined and hung. But there are changho where the wall is simply built up around a reserved opening — changho a carpenter never lays a hand on.