Sections of Autonomy. Six Korean Architects

Edited by Luca Galofaro, Libria, 2017.

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The book Sections of Autonomy. Six Korean Architects follows the exhibition curated by Choi Won-joon and Luca Galofaro. The book showcases the work of six Korean architects selected among the most intriguing authors of the national architectural scenario, introduced by short texts by Choi Won-joon, Stefania Manna and Alessandro Toti.

Choi Moon-gyu (Ga.A Architects), Jang Yoon-gyoo (Unsangdong Architects Cooperation), Kim Jong-kyu (M.A.R.U.), Kim Jun-sung (Architecture Studio hANd), Kim Seung-hoy (KYWC Architects), Kim Young-joon (YO2 Architects) set up their independent practices in the 1990s and early 2000s, an era marked by political and cultural freedom in the country. As the first generation of Korean architects who were finally free from pressures to modernize tradition — a theme that overshadowed the architectural world since the postwar years — or to form groups for active social engagement — the modus operandi under previous military dictatorship governments — they were able to fully explore the multiple dimensions of architectural autonomy and their reasoned individuality, through a practice rooted in local culture and conditions yet thoroughly contemporaneous with international currents.

The books features a series of photographs, drawings and images from three realised projects for each architect, depicting the complexity of Korean cities through the architects’ works.