The Parish of the Holy Sacrifice and the Myeongdong Cathedral are similar for having a high

ceiling, pillars, an altar, and other pieces of furniture. However, the differences between them include
the structural shape, altar placement, and spaces whether being closed or open and the negative and
positive spaces.

Myeongdong Cathedral is the first Gothic building built in South Korea. It has a floor plan in the
shape of the cross; thus, it has a long nave and an altar at the end. Its interior design has an enclosed
interior space since it has high walls with windows that let the natural light in, but cannot be seen
through since they were placed too high for people. Although it has a high ceiling, the arches in between
the tall inner pillars make the interior still feel enclosed since they block the view on some parts of the
Church. For instance, the view from the entrance on the picture is blocked on the far left and far right
sides by the arches. Since the altar is at the end of the nave, the only view the audience will see is the
front of the altar, unlike in the Parish of the Holy Sacrifice, people can see the altar’s back, sides, and
front. In addition, people will also notice the symmetry on both sides of the church including the
placement of the pews, arches, pillars, windows, and the artworks on the walls of the altar.

Since this is a Gothic cathedral, the designs are so intricate that they leave less negative space.
This can be observed on the ceiling with crisscross designs which is not bare unlike the Parish of the Holy
Sacrifice’s ceiling and on the pillars with visible small bricks. The only negative spaces that can be seen
are the bare parts of the walls around the windows, some parts of the ceiling, and the remaining part of
the main nave that is not covered by the red carpet.

On the other hand, the Parish of the Holy Sacrifice is a circular chapel with its altar at the center.
It has an open space as evidenced by the presence of many entrances, open spaces in between the
pillars that let the ventilation and natural light in, and a high untreated ceiling. The entrances and other
open spaces allow the people to see the environment outside, unlike the windows of Myeongdong
Cathedral. There are no inner pillars since all the pillars are placed along the rim to support the dome;
thus, there is nothing blocking a side of the chapel. The center of the plan is the altar which is elevated
from the floor by three steps to allow the priest to be seen by the audience from all sides. This prevents
the pews, fans, and railing to block people’s view of the altar or center. Moreover, the crucifix
emphasizes the open space since it is the only thing that can be seen on the ceiling and its size allows
the audience to realize how high the ceiling is.

There is a lot more negative space in this chapel than the Myeongdong Cathedral. This can be
observed on the ceiling of the big concrete dome church that was left bare and on the spaces between
the pews. Meanwhile, the positive spaces are all around the audience including the artworks, pews,
altar, and many more.