Comparison Between Rectangular Proportions: Golden Versus Root Ratio: Products to Buddhist Temples Structures - Research About Preferences of Rectangle's Proportions in Korean Design

This paper is based on empirically revealed doubts on the universal preference of the golden ratio proportion. An empirical study has been conducted in order to examine differences about ‘preferences of proportions’ on the golden ratio between South Korean and Western preceding studies by Kimberly Elam’s “Geometry of Design: Studies in Proportion and Composition”. Proportions are determined by mathematical logic, however ‘preferred proportions’ arise from cultural influences and experience. The research was conducted with two hundred subjects between the ages of twenty to thirty in Korea, with questions that showed ten choices of different proportions of rectangles. The data of comparisons clearly revealed that Korean had a preference to root proportion (1:1.414). These results obviously contradict previous studies conducted in the Western culture showed preferences of the golden ratio (1:1.618) (Benjafield, 1979, 2010; Pittard, 2007). The aspect of the results will provide deeper insights of the influence of the design process in specifically on the design form. The paper continues to examine and introduce various Korean traditional and modern objects, architectural structures that exemplify the research results. The paper concludes that various examples of root proportions can be found in Korean design environment showing a Korean preference for root ratio reflecting the here presented results.