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Letterboxing is an outdoor hobby that combines elements of orienteering, art, and puzzle solving. Letterboxers hide small, weatherproof boxes in publicly accessible places (like parks) and distribute clues to finding the box in printed catalogs, on one of several web sites, or by word of mouth. Individual letterboxes contain a notebook and a rubber stamp, preferably hand carved or custom made.^[1] Finders make an imprint of the letterbox's stamp in their personal notebook, and leave an impression of their personal signature stamp on the letterbox's 'visitors' book' or 'logbook' — as proof of having found the box and letting other letterboxers know who has visited. Many letterboxers keep careful track of their 'find count'.

History[edit]

The origin of letterboxing can be traced to Dartmoor, Devon, England in 1854. William Crossing in his Guide to Dartmoor states that a well known Dartmoor guide (James Perrott^[2]) placed a bottle for visiting cards at Cranmere Pool^[3] on the northern moor in 1854.^[4] From this hikers on the moors began to leave a letter or postcard inside a box along the trail (sometimes addressed to themselves, sometimes a friend or relative)—hence the name 'letterboxing'. The next person to discover the site would collect the postcards and post them. In 1938 a plaque and letterbox in Crossing's memory were placed at Duck's Pool on southern Dartmoor.^[5][6][7]

The first Dartmoor letterboxes were so remote and well-hidden that only the most determined walkers would find them, allowing weeks to pass before the letter made its way home. Until the 1970s there were no more than a dozen such sites around the moor, usually in the most inaccessible locations. Increasingly, however, letterboxes have been located in relatively accessible sites and today there are thousands of letterboxes, many within easy walking distance of the road. As a result, the tradition of leaving a letter or postcard in the box has been forgotten.

Membership of the '100 Club' is open to anyone who has found at least 100 letterboxes on Dartmoor. Clues to the locations of letterboxes are published by the '100 Club' in an annual catalogue. Some letterboxes however remain 'word of mouth' and the clues to their location can only be obtained from the person who placed the box. Some clues may also be found in other letterboxes or on the Internet, but this is more commonly for letterboxes in places other than Dartmoor, where no '100 Club' or catalogue exist.^[8]

Letterboxing has become a popular sport, with thousands of walkers gathering for 'box-hunts' and while in some areas of Dartmoor it is particularly popular amongst children, some of the more difficult to find boxes and tougher terrain are better suited to more experienced adults.

Letterboxes can be found in other areas of the United Kingdom including the North York Moors and have spread all over the world. The Scottish artist Alec Finlay^[9] has placed letterboxes with rubber stamp circle poems at locations around the world, including Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

Interest in letterboxing in the U.S. is generally considered to have started with a feature article in the Smithsonian magazine^[10] in April 1998. Much of the terminology below is associated with letterboxing in the US and would be unfamiliar to UK letterboxers. The growing popularity of the somewhat similar activity of geocaching during the 2000s has increased interest in letterboxing as well.Clues to American letterboxes are commonly published on several different websites.

Gatherings[edit]

Letterboxers organize events, usually called meets or gatherings. The first letterbox meet was held on Dartmoor, and they are now held twice yearly on 'clock change days' (in March and October). Gatherings in the US are usually at parks or places with enough space for a large group of letterboxers to meet up and do exchanges (exchanging of personal stamps and/or personal travelers), as well as talk and discuss box ideas. Gatherings in the US usually have a special, one-day 'Event stamp.' At some gatherings, boxes are created or donated to be planted nearby specifically for the gathering attendees to find.

The first gathering in North America was held in November, 1999, at The Inn at Long Trail in Killington, Vermont.

Types[edit]

There are now many different kinds of letterboxes, each with some specific distinction. While purists recognize only those letterboxes planted in the wild, many new variations exist. The kinds include:

Traditional Box

A normal letterbox, hidden and uses clue to find it.

Mystery box

These are usually traditional boxes, but these 'mystery' boxes have either vague starting areas, no starting areas, no descriptions, no clue – any number of things to make the box extremely hard to find.

Bonus Box

The clues for these are usually found in a traditional box as an extra one to find. Usually planted in the same area as the traditional that hosts its clue. Clues can be distributed in any way.

Word of Mouth Box (WOM)

The clue is given by word of mouth, or typed up, but a letterboxer can only receive the clue from the planter.

Cuckoo clue

A clue without a home. The clue is hidden in another letterbox (similar to clues for a bonus boxes), but the letterboxer that finds the clue is expected to move the clue to another nearby letterbox. The cuckoo clue typically contains directions to limit how far the clue should travel to find a new home.

Hitchhiker

A traveling letterbox, it is placed in a traditional letterbox for another letterboxer to find. When found, it is stamped just like a traditional letterbox, but is then carried by the letterboxer to the next letterbox they find and then left in that letterbox for the next finder. The hitchhiker's stamp should also be recorded in the host letterbox's logbook, and vice versa.

Personal Traveler

Much like a traditional box, but instead of being planted, the box is kept with the creator at all times. If another letterboxer is met on the trail or at a meet it is attainable if requested. In the US this box is usually only attainable if the other letterboxer knows the password or passphrase which is sometimes cryptic, straightforward, almost non-existent, or silly.

In the US, letterboxes have developed new forms:

Cootie

Much like a hitchhiker, except instead of being carried from letterbox to letterbox, a letterboxer passes it to another letterboxer. It can be passed in a Personal Traveler, or planted on another letterboxer or their unattended bags on the trails or at gatherings. Most people are subtle about planting them—but not all.

Flea

Like a combination of a hitchhiker and a cootie. Either put in a traditional letterbox, like a hitchhiker, or put it on a person, like a cootie.

Hitchhiker Hostel

This is a traditional letterbox with special qualities. Namely, it is a 'hostel' for hitchhikers, sized and specially designated to hold multiple hitchhikers at one time. Normally, there are at least one or two hitchhikers in the box at all times, and any letterboxer who takes a hitchhiker out is required to leave a new one in its place. A hitchhiker hostel has its own stamp and logbook, just like a traditional letterbox, and any hitchhiker that is placed within it should be stamped and recorded within the logbook, preferably with both the date of its being added to the hostel (in order to make it easier to move the older hitchhikers out), and the date it is removed.

American Parasite (these should not be confused with English Parasites)

A parasite is very much like a hitchhiker except, instead of being carried by a letterboxer between letterboxes on its own, it is carried along with a hitchhiker. When a letterboxer joins a parasite to a hitchhiker ('infecting' it), it is stamped into the hitchhiker. The parasite's stamp is also recorded in the logbook of the letterbox that a hitchhiker is placed in, 'infecting' the letterbox, as well. In the event of being placed in a letterbox that has multiple hitchhikers in it (such as a hitchhiker hostel), the parasite 'infects' all of the hitchhikers inside. The letterboxer that has done the moving also has the choice of sending the parasite along with a different hitchhiker. (This is a relatively new variation of letterbox, and has only just recently begun to take off.)

Virtual

Online letterboxes; actually a scavenger hunt of sorts for an image of a letterbox through different websites, collecting answers to questions posted as the clues to the box. Answers sometimes are unscrambled or simply emailed to the creator the final answer is put in a blank in a web address, which takes the finder to an image of the letterbox online.

Limited time Box

A letterbox that has only been planted for a short amount of time. (A few days or a week, any time length the planter wants.)

Postal (PLB)

Boxes that are made just like traditional letterboxes, but instead of being planted in the wild, they are sent via postal mail to the people on sign up lists for the box, or around a 'ring' of people in a postal ring, which is usually focused on a theme of some sort. Postals are also very often very well designed and organized, as well as ornate. Since the box is very unlikely to be stolen, go missing, or be damaged, creators of PLBs tend to get quite creative.

Other

Anything not described as any of the above listings. They could be bonus stamps inside boxes, a stamp you just have to ask for, etc.

Circle poem

A circle poem is a kind of 'art' letterbox developed in Britain. There are one hundred planned boxes, each of which contains a rubber stamp circle poem by the Scottish poet and artist, Alec Finlay. These are sited at locations around the world, and each has its own nominated keeper.

Find counts[edit]

A letterboxer's find count or PFX count is organized as follows:

• The P ('plants') count is the number of boxes the letterboxer has made and placed.
• The F ('finds') count is the number of boxes the letterboxer has found in the wild.
• The X ('exchanges') count is the number of exchanges the letterboxer has.

Traditional Red Letter Box

Some boxers list individual types of boxes in their PFX counts (e.g.: P12 F76 X45 E4 HH21 V4 would mean 12 plants, 76 finds, 45 exchanges, four events or event stamps, 21 hitchhikers, and four virtuals). Some include virtuals, hitchhikers, and other non-traditional boxes in a single find count, while some exclude them. Many letterboxers do not bother to keep count at all.

The 'PFX count' is not a term associated with Dartmoor Letterboxing.

Questing[edit]

Questing is a game played across a community or geographic place. Originally coined in the USA, it is similar to the concept of letterboxing where clues lead to sealed boxes to be found in a type of treasure hunt.

Questing originated with the placing of a treasure box at Cranmere Pool in Dartmoor, England, by James Perrott in 1854. Over time, the hobby spread, and there are now more than 5,000 treasures to be found in and around Dartmoor.

Vital Communities, a non-profit organization in White River Junction, Vermont established the Valley Quest program as a sense-of-place education program in 1995. Valley quests map and share the Upper Valley region's special places. Created by school groups, scout groups, historical societies and others, there are now over 200 quests across Vermont and New Hampshire. Questing has spread to other communities, too. There is a South Shore Quests program in Hingham, Massachusetts along with programs in Keene, New Hampshire and on Martha's Vineyard.^[11]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^Atlas Quest. 'Is it OK to use a store-bought stamp?'.
2. ^'James Perrott'.
3. ^'Hide-and-Seek for Grownups'. Time. 2002-06-14. Retrieved 2010-12-22.
4. ^Catherine Donaldson-Evans (2004-07-18). 'Letterboxing Makes Hiking an Adventure'. Fox News. Retrieved 2010-12-22.
5. ^'The history of letterboxing'. Archived from the original on July 25, 2013. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
6. ^Foundation, Internet Memory. '[ARCHIVED CONTENT] UK Government Web Archive – The National Archives'. Archived from the original on 2008-07-27.
7. ^'History of Letterboxing'.
8. ^Foundation, Internet Memory. '[ARCHIVED CONTENT] UK Government Web Archive – The National Archives'. Archived from the original on 2008-07-27.
9. ^'Alec Finlay, World Wide Letterboxing'.
10. ^'THEY LIVE AND BREATHE LETTERBOXING'.
11. ^Clark, Delia; Glazer, Steven (2004). Questing: A Guide to Creating Community Treasure Hunts. University Press of New England. ISBN9781584653349.

Further reading[edit]

• Anne Swinscow has written several popular guide books on Dartmoor Letterboxing: Dartmoor LetterboxesISBN0-9509114-2-9; More Dartmoor LetterboxesISBN0-9509114-1-0 ; 101 Dartmoor Letterboxes: But Not How to Find Them! (with John Howard) ISBN0-9509114-3-7.
• Janet Palmer has written a brief guide to Dartmoor Letterboxing: Let's Go Letterboxing: A Beginner's Guide (2nd revised edition) ISBN1-898964-33-5.
• Alan Rowland has written a specialised guide to the letterboxes on Lundy published in 2006 ( the 20th Anniversary of) Lundy LetterboxesISBN978-0-9506177-8-7
• The Letterboxer's Companion by Randy Hall was published in 2003 and focuses on letterboxing in North America; ISBN0-7627-2794-2.
• Cranmere Pool: The First Dartmoor Letterbox by Chips Barber published by Obelisk Publications, UK (1994); ISBN978-1-899073-03-0.
• Alec Finlay has published two booklets on circle poem letterboxing: Isles, Arcs & Ways (Isle of Thanet, England, 2005), ISBN1-904477-05-4; and Hill of Streams (Cairnhead, Scotland, 2008).

External links[edit]

• Valley Quest – Letterboxes for sharing natural and cultural heritage.

A hanok (Korean: 한옥, 韓屋) is a traditional Korean house. Hanoks were first designed and built in the 14th century during the Joseon Dynasty.^[1]

Korean architecture considers the positioning of the house in relation to its surroundings, with thought given to the land and seasons. The interior of the house is also planned accordingly. This principle is called baesanimsu (Hangul: 배산임수; Hanja: 背山臨水), meaning that the ideal house is built with a mountain in the back and a river in the front. Hanok shapes differ by region. In the cold northern regions of Korea, hanoks are built in a square with a courtyard in the middle in order to retain heat better. In the south, hanoks are more open and L-shaped.^[2]

History[edit]

Traditional Letter Boxes

A hanok is a Korean house which was developed in Korean Peninsula and Manchuria.^[3]

Early Time

Paleolithic people in the Korean Peninsula stayed in caves or made temporary houses. In the Neolithic era, the temporary house developed into a dugout hut. They dug into the ground with a small shovel and built a small house which used rafters and columns. Wood was used for the rafters and columns, and straw was used for roof. In the Bronze Age, there were several columns in the house, so the area of the house was extended relative to early houses. Iron AgeHanok had Ondol (Hangul: 온돌, Hanja: 溫堗), and also used Giwa (Hangul: 기와), a kind of roofing tile which was made with fired clay. By using Giwa roof tiles, hanok developed a specific shape.

The Enlightenment

The Enlightenment saw many foreigners visit the hermit kingdom. For this reason, Protestantism was spread, but it wasn't common. Anglicanism and Catholicism were the more common branches of the Christian faith in Korea at that time. Early churches utilized the hanok style. This church is located in Ganghwa County, Jincheon County, Cheongju.

South Korea

After the devastation of the Korean War there was a need for cheap, suitable housing for people displaced by the war. During the period immediately after the war several hanoks of historical value were demolished. In the larger cities of South Korea, only small clusters of hanoks remain. However the value of hanoks has been discussed in the early twentieth century, with many comparing them favourably to the more common but less eco-friendly apartments found across South Korea. Today, some train stations are influenced by traditional hanok design. (Jeonju station for example)

North Korea

In Kaesong, the traditional hanoks originally there remain and play a role as a tourist attraction. Giwajips surround the hanoks.

China

In northeast China as well, hanoks can be found, and Koreans have been living for over 100 years in hanoks built for themselves. Also, since 2010, people have been working on a project focused on making a hanok village in Heilongjiang, China^{[citation needed]}.

Term[edit]

The term Hanok appeared for the first time in a paper about houses on April 23, 1907. In that paper, Hanok was used in reference to the specific area along Jeong-dong road from Donuimun to Baejae school. At that time, instead of using Hanok, terms like 'Jooga' (meaning living houses) and 'Jaetaek' (meaning a variety of houses) were more widely used. The word 'Hanok' was only used in special circumstances when the latest house was built somewhere.

During the era of Korea under Japanese rule, the ruler used terms such as 'Jooga' or 'Joseon House' when they were talking about house improvement. There is a record of hanoks; however, the specific term ‘hanok’ hasn't been used prevalently.

The specific word ‘hanok’ appeared in the Samsung Korean big dictionary in 1975, where it was defined as an antonym of 'western house' and as a term meaning Joseon house (Korean-style house). After the 1970s, with urban development, many apartments and terraced houses were built in South Korea, and many Hanoks were demolished everywhere. From that time on, a hanok was only called a ‘’Korean traditional house.’’ ^[4]

In a broad sense, ‘hanok’ refers to a house with thatching or to a Neowa-jib (a shingle-roofed house) or a Giwa-jib (tile-roofed house), although the general meaning of ‘hanok’ refers to only a Giwa-jib (tile-roofed house) in Korea.^[5]

Characteristics[edit]

The environment-friendly aspects of traditional Korean houses range from the structure's inner layout to the building materials which were used. Another unique feature of traditional houses is their special design for cooling the interior in summer and heating the interior in winter.

Since Korea has hot summers and cold winters, the 'Ondol (Gudeul),' a floor-based heating system,^[6] and 'Daecheong,' a cool wooden-floor style hall were devised long ago to help Koreans survive the frigid winters and to block sunlight during summer. These primitive types of heating and air-conditioning were so effective that they are still in use in many homes today. The posts, or 'Daedulbo' are not inserted into the ground, but are fitted into the cornerstones to keep Hanok safe from earthquakes.

Materials[edit]

The raw materials used in Hanok, such as soil, timber, and rock, are all natural and recyclable and do not cause pollution. Hanok's have their own tiled roofs (Giwa; Hangul: 기와), wooden beams and stone-block construction. Cheoma is the edge of Hanok's curvy roofs. The lengths of the Cheoma can be adjusted to control the amount of sunlight that enters the house. Hanji (Korean traditional paper, Hangul: 한지) is lubricated with bean oil making it waterproof and polished. Windows and doors made with Hanji are beautiful and breathable.

Regional differences[edit]

The shapes of Hanok differ regionally. Due to the warmer weather in the southern region, Koreans built Hanok in a straight line, like the number 1. In order to allow good wind circulation, there are open wooden floored living area and many windows. The shape of the most popular Hanok in the central region is like letter 'L' or Korean letter 'ㄱ', an architectural mixture of the shapes in the northern and the southern regions. Hanoks in the cold northern region, are box-shaped like Korean letter 'ㅁ' so that it would be able to block the wind flow in building Hanoks. They do not have an open wooden floored area but the rooms are all joined together.^[7]

Differences according to social class[edit]

The structure of Hanok is also classified according to social class. Typically the houses of yangban (upper class), Jungin (middle class) and urban commoners with giwa (tiled roof) emphasized not only the function of the house, but also possessed great aesthetic value. On the other hand, the houses of the provincial commoners (as well as some impoverished yangban) with choga (a roof plaited by rice straw) were built in a more strictly functional manner.

Preservation[edit]

Many hanoks have been preserved, such as:

• Bukchon Hanok Village, a residential quarter in Central Seoul^[8]
• Namsangol Hanok Village in Pil-dong neighborhood of Jung-gu in Seoul
• Hahoe Folk Village, a traditional village from the Joseon Dynasty located in Andong, Gyeongsangbuk-do.
• Yangdong Folk Village, a traditional village from the Joseon Dynasty in Gyeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea, along the Hyeongsan River.
• Korean Folk Village, a tourist attraction in the city of Yongin, Gyeonggi
• Jeonju Hanok Village, located in Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do is one of the largest Hanok districts in Korea with over 800 hanok houses.^[9]

Gahoe-dong and Gye-dong in Jongno-gu, Seoul, are home to many hanoks, that have been remodeled into cafes, restaurants and teahouses.^[10]

Myth related to Hanok[edit]

Seongjosin, Samshinhalmi (one who gives birth to women), Kitchen God etc. believed by people that there are different kinds of gods related to the house of each enrollment. This belief is shared with the religion of the Ainu.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^Park, Nani; Fouser, Robert J. (2015). Hanok: The Korean House. Tuttle Publishing. p. 6. ISBN1462915140.
2. ^Tudor, Daniel (2014). Geek in Korea: Discovering Asia's New Kingdom of Cool. Tuttle Publishing. ISBN1462914071.
3. ^Mignon, Olivier (2008). 세계의 모든 집 이야기 [Story of House]. ISBN9788996029984.
4. ^'한옥용어의 등장'. Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
5. ^이, 상현 (2007). 즐거운 한옥 읽기, 즐거운 한옥 짓기. 그물코. p. 18.
6. ^'Ondol (Under-floor Heating System)'. Korea Tourism Organization. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
7. ^'The Layout of a Hanok'. Korean Tourism Organization. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
8. ^Kim, Hyung-eun (16 November 2012). 'Historic Bukchon besieged by tourists, businesses'. Joongang Daily. Archived from the original on 27 January 2013. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
9. ^'Jeonju Hanok Village [Slow City]'. 대한민국구석구석 행복여행(happy travel in Korea). 한국관광공사(Korean Tourism Organization).
10. ^Yoo Sun-young; Hannah Kim (2 March 2011). 'Bukchon streets lure folks with rustic charm and retro cool'. Joongang Daily. Archived from the original on 16 February 2013. Retrieved 27 January 2013.

External links[edit]

• (in Korean)Hanok Cultural center