In September, demolition began on the Seogwipo Tourist Theater – the first modern, purpose-built theatre in Seogwipo – which had adapted to the new uses to which it has been put over six decades while remaining a landmark in the city. Upon hearing the news, Jeju¡¯s architectural community immediately intervened, stopping the demolition on site. A task force was swiftly organised to conduct research, hold discussions, and seek possible plans for preservation and reuse. Seogwipo City has since postponed its final decision until the end of November. Here, Kang Jungyoon (co-principal, a root architecture) reflects on the urgency in that moment, the reasoning on both sides for demolition and preservation, and the questions that remain.

 

¡®Mobility¡¯ has been a recurring theme throughout this series. In small and medium-sized (hereinafter mid-size) cities facing decline, improved mobility has opened alternative paths for survival. This final issue examines how mobility drives transformation in these cities. As road networks have expanded from urban to rural areas, mobile facilities such as school buses, laundries, and health centres now fill the gaps in dispersed settlements. Meanwhile, the elderly¡¯s use of electric scooters as daily transport forms a new pattern in urban settlement that differs from that of the past. The neutral ¡®station¡¯ proposed by the Mid-Size City Forum marks the point where these two mobilities converge.

 

Based in Takasaki, about 100 kilometers from Tokyo, Ikimono Architects (principal, Fujino Takashi) have been exploring the relationship between the natural and the artificial, the interior and the exterior, experimenting with the formal possibilities that emerge along their boundaries. A series of houses built within the vegetation, topography, and everyday landscape delicately refine the flow of space, forming open environments where the external world and the inhabitant¡¯s sensibilities intersect.

 

Since we were working with emerging technologies that hadn¡¯t yet been established in the field of architecture, we often didn¡¯t know where the work would ultimately lead. In such a state, the designer has to bring the project to a close on their own terms. In my case as well, I did as much as I could within the bounds of my way of thinking at the time, the given circumstances, and the grade of technology available—but a sense of incompleteness always remained. I often thought it would be good to revisit and further develop those works when the opportunity arose. Since most of these projects didn¡¯t involve a specific client, there was a certain freedom that allowed me to create some degree of continuity between one work and another.

 

The exhibition ¡®Undoing Oneself¡¯, which shone a light five mid-career artists (or teams) – Kang Hong-goo, Nayoungim & Gregory Maass, Oksun Kim, Kim Jipyeong, and Ha Cha Youn – was on show at the ARKO Art Center until the 26th of October. ¡®Undoing Oneself¡¯ is part of the programme that highlights mid-career artists, a culmination of Arts Council Korea¡¯s Mid-Career Artist Support Project and Artist Research-Study-Critique Support Project. The exhibition explores the paths of these mid-career artists, tracing how they engage in acts of self-critique and self-reference as they articulate their artistic worldview. What does it mean for artists who have achieved their own unique visual language to revisit the past?