science

Pyeong

Pyeong is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Pyeong rather than just read about it. In short: A pyeong (abbreviation py) is a Korean unit of area and floorspace, equal to a square kan or 36 square Korean feet. The ping and tsubo are its equivalent Taiwanese and Japanese units, similarly based on a square bu (ja:步) or ken, equivalent to 36 square Chinese or Japanese feet.

Key takeaways

Pyeong belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Pyeong to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Pyeong from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

A pyeong (abbreviation py) is a Korean unit of area and floorspace, equal to a square kan or 36 square Korean feet. The ping and tsubo are its equivalent Taiwanese and Japanese units, similarly based on a square bu (ja:步) or ken, equivalent to 36 square Chinese or Japanese feet.

Current use

Korea In Korea, the period of Japanese occupation produced a pyeong of ⁠400/121⁠ or 3.3058 m2. It is the standard traditional measure for real estate floorspace, with an average house reckoned as about 25 pyeong, a studio apartment as 8–12 py, and a garret as 1½ py. In South Korea, the unit has been officially banned since 1961 but with little effect prior to the criminalization of its commercial use effective 1 July 2007. Informal use continues, however, including in the form of real estate use of unusual fractions of meters equivalent to unit amounts of pyeong. Real estate listings on major websites such as Daum show measurements in square meters with the pyeong equivalent.

Taiwan In Taiwan, the Taiwanese ping was introduced in the period of Taiwan under Japanese rule, which remains in fairly common use and is about 3.305 m2.

Japan In Japan, the usual measure of real estate floorspace is the tatami and the tsubo is reckoned as two tatami. The tatami varies by region but the modern standard is usually taken to be the Nagoya tatami of about 1.653 m2, producing a tsubo of 3.306 m2. It is sometimes reckoned as comprising 10 gō.

China In China, the metrication of traditional units would produce a ping of 4 m2, but it is almost unknown, with most real estate floorspace simply reckoned in square meters. The longer length of the Hong Kong foot produces a larger ping of almost 5 m2, but it is similarly uncommon.

See also Japanese units of measurement Korean units of measurement Taiwanese units of measurement Chinese units of measurement

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Pyeong

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Pyeong claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Pyeong before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Pyeong ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Pyeong

In research: Pyeong appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Pyeong in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Pyeong is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Culture of Korea, East Asian units of measurement, Units of area, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Pyeong outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Pyeong in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Pyeong means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Pyeong out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Pyeong in simple terms?

Why does Pyeong matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Pyeong?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Pyeong.