(Un)Defining Korean Architecture: Modernity, Stories, and Transformation
UB's School of Architecture and Planning was pleased to host, in partnership with the Asia Research Institute, the third annual Koren Studies Symposium—“(Un)Defining Korean Architecture: Modernity, Stories, and Transformation.”
Published November 12, 2024
By Darra Kubera
This October, The University at Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning was pleased to host, in partnership with the Asia Research Institute, the third annual Korean Studies Symposium—“(Un)Defining Korean Architecture: Modernity, Stories, and Transformation.” The event was organized by Nojin Kwak, vice provost for International Education and professor of communication, and Jin Young Song, associate professor in the Department of Architecture. Following the success of last year’s symposium, K-Pop and the West, Vice Provost Kwak and Dean Julia Czerniak decided to initiate an interdisciplinary effort to expand the scope of Korean Studies to include art, architecture, and urban studies. Through the call for papers and speaker invitations, the event engaged the audience with robust conversations about the identity of Korea and the stories of its cities through the lens of art and architecture. The symposium examined specific Korean conditions, where the roles of art and architecture are continuously challenged amid radical social, economic, and political changes over the past 100 years. This unique context of modernization resonates with a global audience, offering a productive critique of neoliberal society that is increasingly prevalent worldwide.
Greg Delaney, clinical associate professor in the Department of Architecture, gives a Buffalo tour to our symposium speakers.
Artist talk by Yeondoo Jung, a media artist working primarily with photography, video, and performance and a faculty member at Sungkyunkwan University.
Prior to the official start of the symposium, guests were invited to an artist talk by Yeondoo Jung moderated by Berin Golonu, assistant professor in the Department of Art. Jung is a media artist working primarily with photography, video, and performance and a faculty member at Sungkyunkwan University. Exploring themes of memory, collective history, and hope, Jung was the youngest recipient of the "Artist of the Year" award by the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea, in 2007. Selected as the featured artist for the MMCA Hyundai Motor Series 2023, he has also participated in exhibitions at the Korean Pavilion of the Venice Biennale and the Venice Biennale of Architecture, as well as the Gwangju Biennale, the Shanghai Biennale, the Istanbul Biennial, and more. Notably, his work Documentary Nostalgia (2007) was acquired by the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). His works are also held in collections of many institutions, including the MMCA, Leeum Museum of Art, Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA), Saint Louis Art Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, and the Essl Museum in Austria.
A workshop, “We Are Always In Process,” by FHHH Friends was the next pre-symposium event. FHHH (Fuhahaha!!) is a Seoul-based architectural firm consisting of ten team members and three principal architects—Han Seungiae, Han Yang-Kyu, and Yoon Hanjin. In 2019, they received the Korea Young Architect Award. They have completed numerous projects, including the Hybe Office Headquarters, Thisisneverthat Office, and Seongsu Yeonbang. With philanthropic support from DeSimone Consulting Engineering, this event was designed specifically for students in the early phases of studying architecture (freshmen, sophomores, and first-year M.Arch students) to introduce and share insights from FHHH’s recent book, We Are Always in Process, which captures 10 years of their exciting stories.
A workshop, “We Are Always In Process,” by FHHH Friends. FHHH (Fuhahaha!!) is a Seoul-based architectural firm consisting of ten team members and three principal architects—Han Seungiae, Han Yang-Kyu, and Yoon Hanjin.
The symposium kicked off with Peter Rowe, the Raymond Garbe Professor of Architecture and Urban Design and Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor, presenting “Korean Modern: The Matter of Identity.” Rowe served as Dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Design; his extensive research and consulting work spans cultural interpretation, urban form, and sustainability, with advisory roles for cities worldwide. Rowe has written or co-authored more than twenty books on architecture and urban design, including significant works on modern housing and East Asian cities.
A panel discussion was then moderated by Walter Hakala, associate professor for UB’s College of Arts and Sciences in the Department of English. Esteemed panelists included—
- Dongsei Kim, New York Institute of Technology, Architecture at the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ): Speculative Architectural Methods as Imagining New Cosmopolitan Polities
- Lois Narae Lee, journalist and architect, Tracings: Preserving the Narrative of Korean Architecture
- Man Joong Kim, SUNY Binghamton University, Critical Analysis of Americanized Architectural Education and the Democratization of Architectural Practice in Korea: A Case Study of Kimm Jong Soung’s Seoul Museum of History and Woo Kyu Soung’s Asia Culture Center
- Walter N. Hakala, University at Buffalo, Inscribing Muslim Identities in South Korea: Language and Script in Islamic Spaces
- Joowon Park, Skidmore College, “To Construct While Fighting”: Militarized Infrastructures and Defensive Space from the DMZ to Seoul
The discussion addressed, on one hand, the matter of identity through the perspectives of pioneers who studied within the American and European architectural traditions, and, on the other hand, the paradox of urban conditions created by these elite architects and planners. Presentations also explored how violence and the memory of war have deeply influenced Korea's modernization process, shaping the country's daily experiences.
Seth Amman, adjunct instructor in the Department of Architecture, and Greg Delaney, clinical associate professor in the Department of Architecture took our speakers on a tour of the Darwin Martin House.
Tour of Buffalo AKG Art Museum.
Sujin Eom, assistant professor of Asian Societies, Cultures, and Languages at Dartmouth College, was the next lecture—" If These Houses Could Talk: Architecture as Fugitive Archives of Decolonial Futures.” Eom is a scholar of architecture and urbanism, whose research focuses on the historical intersections of race, migration, and the built environment. They are currently completing their first book manuscript, which examines "Chinatown" as both an imaginative and material space within the global history of empire, labor migration, and violence. Their research interests encompass colonial architecture and urbanism, empire studies, migration and diaspora, race and racism, Asian/American architecture, infrastructures, and archives.
The day concluded with a lecture by Yeondoo Jung’s “Connecting the Unrelated: Imagination from Afar.” Jung’s work explores the DMZ with an anthropologist-like approach, uncovering the area's rich and dynamic stories through folktales and myths rather than focusing on nationalistic or ideological narratives. For Jung, the DMZ represents a unique condition where reality and imagination intersect. His work also engages with critical micro-histories in Korea; pieces like Brorame Dance Hall and Evergreen Tower reveal humorous and realistic human responses to the sweeping urban transformations imposed by authoritarian culture, where imaginative, creative desires are contained within functional products shaped by a logic of growth and survival.
The University at Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning was pleased to host, in partnership with the Asia Research Institute, the third annual Koren Studies Symposium—“(Un)Defining Korean Architecture: Modernity, Stories, and Transformation.”
The second day of the symposium began with a panel discussion moderated by Sujin Eom featuring
- Yeogeun Kim, Kyungpook University, Community Gardening Projec
- Jae Hwan Lim, University of California, San Diego (UCSD), Mt. Kumgang (2020): Shaping Memory Through North Korean Architecture
- Soewon Hwang, Chung Ang University, Hagwon Urbanism: Paradox of Neglected Spaces of Private Educational Institutions in Korea
- Soo Jeong Yi, Sogang University, At the Crossroads of Coexistence and Separation: Urban Restructuring of Migrant Muslim Communities in South Korea.
The highlight of this session was the “image” of the city and how society perceives it through façade recognition. How does North Korean tourism influence perceptions of the conflict and attitudes toward North Korea? Korea spends $26 billion on private cram schools, typically housed in generic commercial buildings covered in heavy signage. What is the urban and architectural impact of this vertical learning phenomenon? The identity of a community is expressed through the façades of its streets and buildings. Can the image of a city allow for the coexistence of Muslim communities in Korea
FHHH Friends then presented Loose Context, and the event concluded with a roundtable moderated by Jin Young Song, associate professor in the Department of Architecture. Using Minsuk Cho’s 2024 Serpentine Pavilion as an example, the discussion revisited the exploration of “Korean-ness” through the concept of Madang—the traditional open courtyard. Song argued that FHHH Friends' Alley in the House reinterprets the concept of a “center void,” moving away from familiar reactions to Western modernism, which has dominated architectural discourse for the past half-century. By focusing on their own unique stories without the pressure to reference Korea’s intangible heritage, Alley in the House authentically reflects the memories of living and playing together along the alley in the community some time ago. Therefore, the discussion emphasized the need to re-evaluate stories of transformation, adaptation, and debate within the country’s modernization process. It also touched on the “disappearance of rituals” in commercialized neoliberal culture, referencing Han Byung-Chul to explore ways to restore a sense of community and the notion of “living together,” drawing from the unique Korean sensibility evident in traditional communal living forms (Maul).
A lively discussion that emphasized the need to re-evaluate stories of transformation, adaptation, and debate within the country’s modernization process.
Here’s what some attendees of the event had to say:
“I thoroughly enjoyed the 3rd annual Korean Studies Symposium at UB. It was immensely productive for me to meet scholars, practitioners, and artists from various disciplines and of different generation to discuss the question of Koreanness, what is Korea, Korean, and how it all impacts my own work. The symposium was organized and hosted impeccably. I was particularly impressed to see many enthusiastic students and faculty from different disciplines participating in the symposium and the associated workshops. This experience made me want to visit UB again soon. I also hope this can also be a great start to a more productive collaboration with UB and New York Tech.” - Dongsei Kim, chair and associate professor, School of Architecture and Design, New York Institute of Technology
“This was an excellently organized symposium with thought provoking presentations from a well-balanced group of academics and practitioners. In fact, I would say this was one of the best small symposiums I’ve attended in recent years. I left inspired and intellectually challenged. Special thanks to Bruce Acker and Jin Young Song for their warm hospitality, attention to details, and facilitation. As a scholar of Korea, I look forward to returning to Buffalo to attend future symposiums.” – Joowon Park, associate professor of Anthropology and director of Asian Studies at Skidmore College.
“I am just writing to express my heartfelt gratitude to you for organizing the event. I learned a great deal from the participants. I felt privileged to be part of the conversation—most of all, thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to meet with Yeondoo Jung. His work provided me with much inspiration.” - Sujin Eom (Dartmouth College)
“I was one of the Marist students who had the privilege of attending the ARI conference at UB this weekend. I just wanted to extend my gratitude for such a wonderful event. I learned so much and truly enjoyed every question you asked and comment you made.” - Evelyn Milburn (Marist College Presidential Scholar, BA Candidate in English Literature)
“Thank you so much for the hospitality over the past few days and allowing me the opportunity to be a part of such an amazing group of people and conversations. The symposium sparked meaningful dialogue, providing insightful perspectives that unveil the intricate relationship between culture, identity, architecture and art. While a Korean identity in architecture may remain largely elusive, platforms like this symposium are essential for actively shaping it through collective narratives. - Lois Lee (Architect and Journalist)