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The Touch of a First-Generation Korean Modern Architect

There are two people who have had a great impact on the overall appearance of modern cities and the history of architecture in Korea - Kim Joong-up and Kim Swoo-geun, the first-generation Korean modern architects. Architect Kim Joong-up, the only Korean student of Le Corbusier, the father of modern architecture, led modernist architecture in Korea through a colorful harmony of Korean, Japanese, and French architecture. Architect Kim Swoo-geun sought to combine architecture as an art with various cultures such as design, art, theater, and film, and took the lead in the architectural culture movement through the monthly comprehensive arts magazine, Space. Let's embark on our eighth architectural tour through the city to spaces embodying the philosophy of Korea's architectural masters, Kim Joong-up and Kim Swoo-geun.

Harmony Between East & West

#KimJoongUpHouseofArchitecturalCulture #KimJoongUp #ModernismArchitecture

The Jangwi-dong area where the Kim Joong-up House of Architectural Culture is located is in a place where a large-scale residential complex was built in the 1960s. The remaining detached houses from that time form a quaint scenery in the alleyway. Built in the 1970s, this two-story detached house was remodeled in 1986 by Kim Joong-up, who added exotic elements to every corner of the house based on traditional Korean architecture. This is a place where you can get a glimpse of the housing culture of the middle class at the time, and was designated as a Seoul Future Heritage in 2017. Now, it has become a cultural hub for the public, and is open for anyone to visit and appreciate the residential space of the time.

Stepping into the room with a traditional wooden floor, an antique living room with a fireplace, which is a symbol of Western houses, comes into full view. The large chandelier hanging from the ceiling and stained-glass windows decorate this house with color and style. The stairs, cut from hardwood, hold traces of the long years and firmly support the core of the house. Ascending up along the wall built with bricks that architect Kim Joong-up made himself with exact measurements, you feel as if you are in an elegant hanok.

The Kim Joong-up House of Architectural Culture harmoniously integrates Korean and Western architectural styles. The second-floor living room has an umul-maru*⁾, rafter structure, and windows covered with changhoji**⁾ paper, which are mainly used in hanok, but with a modern interpretation. In contrast, the bathroom was designed in a European style. The dry bathroom with a dressing room attached, something that wasn’t common in Korea during the '70s and '80s, has a vintage jade-colored interior that stands out.

*Umul-maru : A type of flooring that only appears in hanoks and was named for its resemblance to a well

**Changhoji : Traditional Korean window paper

Stepping out to the elegantly decorated garden, a water element, a characteristic of Kim Joong-up's architecture, is located on one side of the yard. The sound of water flowing along the waterway pipe as raindrops fall through the eavestrough adds a special quality to the space. From a 500-year-old jujube tree to a garden full of various types of plants, not one plant has been placed without careful consideration. Even equipped with its own small greenhouse, the Kim Joong-up House of Architectural Culture contains immense nature in the garden. Kim Joong-up’s architectural philosophy to emphasize the harmony between house and nature is well embodied here.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of architect Kim Joong-up, who is well-known as the only Korean pupil of world-renowned architect Le Corbusier. Born in Pyongyang in 1922, Kim Joong-up studied architecture in Japan and France. After returning to Korea, Kim Joong-up opened a new horizon for Korean modern architecture by combining traditional Korean styles with modernism. Buildings that were created in this way include the French Embassy in Korea, the World Peace Gate in Olympic Park, the Samil Building, and the Seosan Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinic (currently the Arium Office Building).

Address              11, Jangwi-ro 21na-gil, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul

Operation Hours  Daily 10:00 ~ 17:00 KST (Closed Sundays & Mondays) / No entry during lunch hours 12:00 ~ 13:00 KST

Art Contained in a Three-dimensional Space

#ArarioMuseum #KimSwooGeun #SpaceGroupFormerOffice

The Space Office, which shares its name with ‘SPACE’, a comprehensive art magazine founded by architect Kim Swoo-geun, is an architectural design office in which Kim Swoo-geun himself worked. The office, which was completed in 1972, was reborn as the art museum, Arario Museum in Space (hereinafter "Arario Museum") in 2013. The history of this place is evident in the letters that spell out "空間, SPACE" on the upper part of the building. The Arario Museum is not conspicuous from the street as it is hidden by large trees in front of the main road. Also, ivy has grown along the building exterior over the course of several years. This vine that changes its appearance according to the change in seasons, transforms the appearance of the building and adds a sense of mystery to it.

In contrast with the magnificent exterior of the building made of dark gray bricks, the space feels narrow when entering the interior. The interior space is a series of human scale spaces that are neither very large nor small. Here, Kim Swoo-geun's architectural philosophy, which aims for a form in which different spaces are overlapped rather than a uniform space, is clearly revealed. The narrow staircase and low ceiling space feel stuffy, but the sense of space is maximized when you move on to the larger space.

Viewing the exhibitions at the Arario Museum feels like exploring a small castle made up of mazes. This is due to the space being organized in a skip floor^*) method for each segmented floor. Passing through this space where different works are displayed, the viewers lose their sense of direction on which floor they are on and enter into a new space. It is interesting to see the carefully structured exhibitions that make use of such building characteristics, in which various types of spaces are intertwined.

*Skip floor : A method of dividing space so that the height of the floor is different by half a floor.

There are a great number of stairs that connect the divided spaces into one. The complicated interior that is a result of dividing the space into several parts, is seamlessly connected with a single flow of stairs in various shapes. Because of its narrow width, you rotate quickly as you go up the circular stairway that has a radius of less than 1 m. When viewed from above, the triangular-shaped stairs create a dizzying sight. Come and experience the spirit of architect Kim Swoo-geun, who wanted to express architecture as art through the Arario Museum, which captures architectural beauty with three-dimensional space and circulation.

Architect Kim Soo-geun, who led the first generation of Korean modern architecture, designed numerous buildings and trained architecture students. Born in 1931, Kim Swoo-geun studied architecture at Seoul National University, then moved to Japan and graduated from the Department of Architecture at Tokyo University of the Arts. After returning to Korea, he designed projects, such as the Sewoon Shopping Center, Freedom Center, Jamsil Sports Complex, and Gyeongdong Church. In 1966, he founded Space, a monthly comprehensive art magazine, to bring architecture, design, art, theater, and film together to sublimate architecture into an art and culture.

Address              83, Yulgok-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul

Operation Hours  Daily 10:00 ~ 19:00 KST (Closed Mondays)