Can Korea break away from apartment fixation?

Ten leading architecture and housing experts gathered at “Architecture Talk: More Than APT,” in Seoul on Wednesday to discuss ways to foster diversity in housing in Korea.

Organized by The Korea Herald, "Architecture Talk" sought to expand upon the ideas and perspectives explored in the five-part article series, "More Than APT," published in The Korea Herald in November and to facilitate discussion on the issue with the public.

"I am glad we could invite leading experts in the architecture field to talk about our housing environment and share their insight with the audience and our readers globally," said Choi Jin-young, CEO of Herald Media Group, in his welcome remarks at the Seosomun Shrine History Museum.

The event was divided into two rounds of discussion: “Why apartment?” and “Housing and Community,” moderated by Yoon Seung-hyun, professor of architecture at Chung-Ang University and CEO of Interkerd Architects, and Kim Sung-hong, professor of architecture at the University of Seoul, respectively.

The first round focused on how "Korean-style apartments" developed in the country. Characterized by large complexes equipped with convenient amenities, these apartments now account for 63 percent of housing in Korea.

Park In-seok, professor of architecture at Myongji University, clarified that apartments themselves were not a problem, but that apartment complexes, which he referred to as “oases in a city,” require attention.

“The current environment of apartment complexes leads people to be less conscious about public spaces, as they live within a complex surrounded by walls, categorized into groups of people,” he said. “I admit that apartment complexes are the largest contributors to the country’s fast growth, lessening the government’s burden to spend money on public spaces or housing."

“But they have been built like an oasis in a city without considering the context of the city, I think the time has come to think critically about our housing environment,” he said.

Kim stressed how apartments are important to Koreans as assets, noting that the identical sizes of apartment units facilitate apartments' function as a kind of currency.

“To function as currency, first of all, it should have a universal value for everybody. Second, there should be plenty of it. And third, it has to be stable to maintain its value. And apartments in Korea have these three factors,” Kim said.

Seong Eun-young, research fellow at the Architecture & Urban Research Institute, stressed that Korean society has focused on quantitative growth, missing opportunities to look at how housing other than apartments might improve.

“We need more discussions on how we can improve the other sides of housing such as midsized multiunit housing or detached houses. I think the COVID-19 pandemic ignited the discussion as people became more interested in their living environments,” she said.

Kim Yong-jin, manager of the Housing & Building Architecture Team at Daewoo E&C, said the popularity of apartments in Korea lies in the fact that they satisfy people’s desires, adding that is why other alternatives are hard to find here. “The reality is that 90 percent of projects we do as a construction company are apartment complexes.”

At the second roundtable, panelists expanded upon the efforts required to diversify housing, introducing a variety of forms of housing they had designed.

Lee So-jung, principal at OBBA, said that people asking themselves what they actually value when it comes to their living space is the first step to breaking away from the mainstream. Lee and her team designed 50m² House, a small house for a newlywed couple in Seoul.

“People tend to blindly chase what people say is important, but we need to ask ourselves what we truly want. That will be the beginning,” she said.

Yoon of Chung-Ang University pointed out that the government needs to come up with measures to protect those who choose alternatives to the mainstream -- something that has been long neglected as government policies have focused on building large-scale apartment complexes.

“Even though they may want to make a choice beyond a typical apartment, they get hesitant because they do not want to be a straggler in the housing market,” he said of housing buyers.

Cho Kyung-bin, CEO of Pildong2ga Architects, who lives with three generations of his family in the house he designed, “Mooeru,” said regulations need to be eased to build freestanding houses.

Park Chang-hyun, CEO of A Round Architects, emphasized the importance of having strong determination about the house people want to live in and constantly talking about the issue with like-minded people.

“When it comes to the home, we are accustomed to choosing an apartment that is already fixed. I think we need a more collective movement to gradually change people's perceptions,” he said.

Kim Hana, director of Seoul Social Standard, who runs Collective Mine in Jongno-gu, shared single-person rental housing, has attempted different experiments to provide living spaces for the increasing number of people living alone.

“Rather than only buying or renting their living space, there should be more ways in between, and I think we should accumulate those experiments to provide housing,” she said.

Lee Eun-kyung, principal at EMA Architects & Associates, left the audience with a question about what sustainability and value mean.

“Many apartments 30 years or older are going through reconstruction, turning them into taller buildings -- do we ever have a chance to think about how the city will look after another 30 years? The future looks bleak if we simply repeat this process," she said.

"I hope we can all find other valuable, sustainable ways to live in the future without simply mortgaging our reality."

Lee Yoon-seo contributed to reporting.