From the editor

Most of you will be familiar with South Korea’s major exports — skincare products, street fashion, powerful tech and automotive corporations, and K-pop — but you may be less au fait with the country’s burgeoning creative community, and the nuances that differentiate Korean design and architecture from that which originates beyond its borders. Often the underdog to former colonial ruler Japan, or overlooked in favour of its more populous and powerful neighbour China, the country has survived war, poverty and political upheaval. Despite, or because of, these challenges, the South Koreans are a proud people — and my feeling is they have plenty to be proud of.

This issue opens with an essay by repatriated resident Inès Cho, who explains the origins and history of Korean aesthetics, providing a lens through which we can understand and appreciate the country’s creative production. In the field of design, Korea’s strength lies in the relationship between heritage, tradition and deep respect for materiality and craftsmanship together with its more recent history of industrialisation and mass production.  Our surveys of product designers and contemporary ceramicists each provide an illuminating insight into the current design landscape — and hint at what the future may hold. 

Much of the content in this edition is centred in Seoul because — more than any other country to which we’ve dedicated an issue — the creative communities are largely concentrated in the capital, the history of which is remarkable. The seat of the country’s rulers for more than 500 years, Seoul is a city of layers. If you look closely enough, you’ll see evidence of Japanese and American influence, and structures designed by architects who have until recently lacked the freedom or confidence to interpret their national identity and culture through architecture and urban planning. You’ll also see a modern metropolis facing many of the same issues with which other big cities around the world are grappling: density versus sprawl, gentrification, skyrocketing property prices, and the loss of heritage buildings and public spaces. We hope that the first essay in our Architectonics section by respected educator, curator and author Professor Hyungmin Pai will shed some light on this history of architecture in South Korea. Professor Youngbum Reigh then introduces the work of one of the country’s most lauded architectural firms, Unsangdong, through one of their characteristically cerebral buildings in the glitzy Gangnam district. 

If you’re yet to visit South Korea and are looking for some travel inspiration, we’re excited to share a few destination hotels and guesthouses with you, including the award-winning Healing Stay kosmos on Ulleungdo island, the breathtaking South Cape Hotel in Namhae, and a collection of boutique accommodations across the country that we hope will inspire even the armchair traveller.

There are many more stories in this issue that we’re thrilled to be sharing, and we sincerely hope you enjoy becoming acquainted with a country that very quickly stole our hearts. A big, warm gomabseubnida to all our friends in Seoul and across the country who helped make this issue a reality.

Suzy Annetta
Editor-in-Chief

Inside the issue

Dossier

Openings
New store openings in Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Singapore and China 

Products
New collections and collaborations 

Read
Upcoming and new books on design, art, interiors and architecture from some of the world’s best publishers

Arts & Culture
We look at what makes Korean cultural and creative production distinctly Korean

Ceramic Traditions
Master ceramicist Kim Pan Ki crafts traditional moon jars and contemporary celadon vessels

Contemporary Ceramicists
A selection of master ceramicists and innovative young artists who each bring a unique approach to the centuries-old craft

Young Designers
A survey of some of the designers making names for themselves both locally and on the international stage

Restaurants
These drinking and dining destinations bear the mark of some of South Korea’s most promising design talent

Print Culture
Conceived by some of South Korea’s foremost architectural minds, Paju Book City is a meticulously yet daringly designed tribute to the culture of print

City Stories
Architect Laurent Pereira provides a snapshot of the city in this graphic novel-style story 

Wanderlust

Resort, Ulleungdo
Set on a remote island off Korea’s eastern coast, Healing Stay kosmos is inspired by the location’s breathtaking landscape and the celestial bodies above it

Resort, Namhae Island
A small peninsula off the Korean mainland is home to this resort, which was designed to enhance the experience of the site’s dramatic landscape

Getaways
Make like the locals and head out of the capital to experience design-led accommodations in some of South Korea’s most picturesque locations

Openings
The best of the new boutique and luxury designer hotels from around the world

Vernissage

Mediums
Three artists explain why their practices engage with everyday household materials

Artistic Practices
Two prominent artists contemplate the opposing inspirations that form the creative bases for their careers

Women in Art
Three women working in South Korea’s art world talk about what they do and why they do it

Home

Seoul
Bold colours, forms and textures combine in this Gangnam apartment designed by local studio intg.

Seoul
Parts family home, jewellery atelier and bespoke tailoring workshop, this Gangnam home defies neighbourhood norms

Daejeon
Mass Studies designed this bibliophile’s home to accommodate 20,000 books and a family of five

Seoul
In the heart of Seoul’s historical and cultural centre, designer Teo Yang’s hanok is a tasteful combination of traditional and contemporary

Yangpyeong
Seung H-Sang of iroje designed this lake house as a quiet and contemplative refuge for its creative residents

Architectonics

Vernacular Architecture
Professor Hyungmin Pai considers history, politics, tradition, modernity and postmodernity in creating an understanding of Korean architecture

New Forms
Unsangdong Architects Cooperation’s new tower in Gangnam is a dialogue between traditional landscape painting and architectural metaphor

Adaptive Reuse
As part of a collective effort to rejuvenate the tiny island of Gapado, one o one architects transformed an abandoned underground hotel into an artists’ residency space

The Flâneur

Not Just a Pretty Place
A flâneur is an urban explorer — a connoisseur of the street. In our rotating column, guests share their musings, observations and critiques of the urban environment in cities around the world. In this issue, architect and writer Doojin Hwang recounts how his community saved its neighbourhood park, making a case for the importance of public parks in any metropolis

Masthead