Kan (unit)

The kan (Korean: 간; Hanja: 間) is a traditional unit of measurement used in Korean architecture still found in use today primarily to describe palaces, Buddhist temples and shrines, and Confucian school buildings, from the Joseon era. A Kan is the distance between two support beams or pillars. 1 Kan is defined as being a space of about two meters, or 6–8 feet. Kan is also used to define an area in a traditional building, referring to the square space enclosed by 4 wooden pillars.[1][2]

See also
  • Korean units
  • Ken, its Japanese equivalent

References
  1. "koreanarchitecture.org - kan". Archived from the original on 2015-12-08. Retrieved 2015-10-25.
  2. "koreatimes.co.kr - kan". Retrieved 2015-10-25.
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