Kim Swoo-geun
| Kim Swoo-geun | |
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| Korean name | |
|---|---|
| Hangul | 김수근 |
| Hanja | |
| Revised Romanization | Gim Sugeun |
| McCune–Reischauer | Kim Sugŭn |
Kim Swoo Geun (February 20, 1931 – June 14, 1986) was a prominent South Korean architect, educator, publisher and patron of artists. Along with architect Kim Joong Up (김중업), he is recognised as a significant contributor in the history of Korean architecture. With his support for diverse art genres of Korean culture, he was referred to as Lorenzo de Medici of Seoul by TIME in 1977.
Kim Swoo Geun was born the first son of Kim Yong-hwan (김용환) and Kim Usudal (김우수달) in Sinap-dong (신압동), Chongjin, North Hamgyong province. While Kim was in second year at Kyunggi Public Middle School (경기공립중학교), he began to take an interest in architecture, introduced by his English tutor and a US soldier.
After his graduation from the school in 1950 and Kim entered Seoul National University, majoring in architecture. In 1952, during the Korean War, he withdrew from the school and went abroad to Japan where he studied modern architecture at Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. During his study at this school, he interned at Hirada Matsuda (松田平田)'s architectural firm. In 1960 he received a master's degree in architecture from Tokyo University where he finished his doctoral course as well.
In 1959, he won the competition for the National Assembly Building of South Korea, but his proposal was not realized due to the political situation at that time. In 1960, he returned to his country with his Japanese wife Michiko Yajima (矢島道子). He would eventually father three children with her. In 1961 he founded his architectural firm, "Kim Swoo Geun Planning and Design" (김수근 건축사무소), the predecessor of the current SPACE group. At the same time, he also began to teach at the architecture department of Hongik University.
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