MEMORIES OF A CITY

In light of his new book, Korean architect Byoung Cho shares observations about Seoul’s architecture and offers tips on interesting destinations

- Luo Jingmei

In his new book Byoung Cho: My Life as an Architect in Seoul, well-known Korean architect Byoung Cho starts by recounting his journey of discovery in the Korean city. It remains a place that fuels the same curiosity he had as a child growing up there before he moved abroad to study architecture in the early 1980s. Cho’s architecture eschews the “look-at-me” starchitect trend, often straddling old and new elements in poetic, conceptually rigorous ways.

The tome, published by Thames & Hudson, reveals Cho’s thoughts on the city’s past, present and future. There are also destination tips for design buffs, dispensed through his multifaceted viewpoint as a Seoul resident, an architect, and a flâneur in his beloved city.

It is a personal journey that he presents, having witnessed the city’s tremendous evolution in the past 10 years. “I experienced Seoul becoming a more diverse, bustling and flourishing city. This is due to its continuous economic growth, and also because its people are travelling abroad, experiencing and educating themselves about contemporary culture to then interpret the new-found insights in their unique way,” Cho comments.

He experiences this with his clients, whom he describes as open-minded with aspirations about art and design. Cho observes “an apparent curiosity about new approaches and techniques. Their better financial position also leads to high-quality executed projects, which is great to see.”