Subject Description from ‘Korea Heritage Service’ english.khs.go.kr :

National Registered Cultural Heritage : The Registered Cultural Heritage refers to architectural structures or monumental facilities of early modern or modern times, that have significant values and thus need to be preserved.

Cultural Heritage of Early Modern Times : Architectural structures and facilities constructed during the time from the late 19th century to the mid 1940s: cultural heritages from the later period can be included in this category if they are highly valuable and on the verge of destruction or deterioration.

I am interested in see and take the architecture photos, and want to show you images that with my own perspective and various ways of its expression. It will compose with past – modern – contemporary period and these works are belong to modern period.

The modern period is defined as the period of ‘westization’ and ‘modernization’ in the East, and the National Institute of Korean History classifies King Gojong’s accession and Heungseon Daewongun’s reign (1864) to 815 Liberation (1945) as the modern period.

Since then, Korea’s modernity, which continued into the period of the U.S. military government and the Korean War, has been marked by foreign aggression, ideological confusion, and war scars. Most of the buildings that were built during this period and have been preserved until now reflect the era and purpose of that time, such as domination and exploitation, military facilities, and religious facilities for religious life.

I think it’s worth the work of photographing and archiving these cultural heritages.

The solemnity I felt at Jeju Moseulpo Altre Airfield(where a lot of forced labor, exploitation, and death by the Imperial Japanese Army), which I encountered while walking on Olle Road a few years ago in Jeju, might be the beginning of this work.