Chunggye-chon Becomes a Subject of Study

A lecture on Chunggye-chon will be provided at Design School of the U.S. Harvard University.

According to Seoul Metropolitan government yesterday, a lecture called “Chunggye-chon Harvard Studio” will begin in September for a full semester for students in master`s or doctorate courses.

At this course, sponsored by the Seoul metropolitan government and Crefolio, a design developer, four professors including Prof. Rudolf M. of City and Environment Engineering along with 15 students will study restoration project of Chunggye-chon area.

Crefolio is a Korean firm, established by Harvard Design School graduates.

“In Korea, `development` refers only to marketability and floor area ratio”, said the company`s president Jang Yong-ju and added “I proposed this lecture to Harvard, hoping the Chunggye-cho development plan be pursued differently.”

Seoul City and Crefolio plan to provide every possible data on Chunggye creek to Harvard University. Two of the lecture instructors are scheduled to visit the creek on September 2. Students will visit the area in October.

To promote further understanding, Seoul city will hold a symposium on Chunggye-chon and Korean style of architecture from mid-August in Boston. In early nest year, the city plans to hold an exhibition, in which Chunggye development plans of students will be displayed. Their innovative idea will be reflected on real development project of Chunggye area. Curriculum at Design School of Harvard consists of city development cases in all over the world. After picking up a worthy case from the educational perspective, a lecture in each semester concentrates on the case thoroughly.

During last semester a lecture titled “Refocusing Seoul” was first provided, in which students conjured up reconstruction models of private schools in Gangnam area and hold exhibitions in Seoul and Boston.

Ji-Young Chae yourcat@donga.com