Golden Print [EN]: Chapter 301

Woo-jin stepped off the plane in Hong Kong, the humid air thick on his skin. He wasn’t there for the famous skyline or the busy markets. He was there for buildings. Not just grand palaces or modern towers, but all kinds of buildings, in all sorts of places. He wanted to understand them. He wanted to know what the architects were thinking when they designed them. He wanted to feel the culture and history that shaped each space. His journey was starting here, in a place called Kowloon Walled City Park. It was hard to imagine, standing in this peaceful garden, that this very spot had once been a chaotic maze of buildings, a place known as the “lawless zone.”

The Kowloon Walled City was once known as the last lawless area of the 20th century.

To be exact, Woo-jin’s first stop was Kowloon Walled City Park, the former location of the Kowloon Walled City.

He thought, “To think that this very spot was once home to that crowded and run-down collection of buildings.”

The Kowloon Walled City was an architectural space that showed a unique culture from a past era. It had such an impact that it influenced many parts of popular culture.

It started as a fortress used by the Qing dynasty to watch over and hold back British forces in Hong Kong. After the Second Opium War, when the Kowloon Peninsula was given to Britain, this area was the only part that remained under Chinese control.

Because it was separated, the Qing dynasty eventually stopped governing the Kowloon Walled City. This made the area a lawless zone without any police.

It became a lawless zone where the law and government had no power.

Woo-jin looked at his smartphone, which showed pictures of what the Kowloon Walled City used to look like. Then, he walked into Kowloon Walled City Park, which was now beautifully landscaped.

A gasp escaped Woo-jin’s lips.

“To think this place was once called Hong Kong’s den of iniquity,” he said to himself.

The Kowloon Walled City Park was like a fancy Chinese garden.

The birds were singing, making it a peaceful and beautiful park that calmed the mind.

Woo-jin liked this green space, but he wanted to see what was left of the old Kowloon Walled City. So, he went into the museum inside the park.

There, he began to learn about the unique space that was the Kowloon Walled City.

“People lived in a place like this…” he wondered.

The 20th century was a chaotic time in China.

It started with the Sino-Japanese War, then World War II, and Mao Zedong’s Great Leap Forward.

The chaotic society caused many people to become refugees.

Countless refugees who had nowhere else to go began to gather in the Kowloon Walled City, which was outside the normal laws. It’s said that almost 50,000 people lived in this area, which was only about the size of Jamsil Baseball Stadium.

The space was small, but the number of people grew. Since there were no laws, people kept building and expanding without any rules.

No one cared about things like sunlight, and there was no punishment if a building fell down.

So, there were no limits or rules.

The Kowloon Walled City was an unusual architectural space built only out of ‘need’.

This was why Woo-jin wanted to see this place, even if it was just indirectly.

This unusual space had grown like a living thing over the past few decades. It was a place that could only be seen here in Hong Kong.

In other words, it was a city that was completely unplanned.

Woo-jin also thought that the Kowloon Walled City was perhaps the closest thing to architecture that grew naturally.

Woo-jin looked at the small model of the old Kowloon Walled City inside the museum. He took out a small notebook from his bag.

He began to write on the white paper.

“There is something interesting in this mess. There were no set rules, but everyone who came here had something in common… So, they must have had common needs and common problems.”

Woo-jin stood in front of the model and wrote without realizing how much time had passed.

After a while, the outline of his sketch began to appear.

Whirr-

Without Woo-jin knowing, a faint golden light appeared around his pen.

A person’s abilities grow with their skills and experience.

Even with the same experience, people can gain different things depending on their ability. Also, people with the same ability can be very different depending on how much experience they have.

So, Woo-jin’s abilities after going back in time were much greater than they were in his past life.

Woo-jin in his past life and Woo-jin now had the same abilities, but he had grown so much because he had more experience.

Because he remembered his past life, he was able to learn more from the same situations.

In this way, Woo-jin grew over the past four years and reached this point.

Now, people in Korea often described Seo Woo-jin as:

[Korea’s best star designer]

[The most successful young businessman in the 21st century]

However, Woo-jin was growing so fast that he was quickly running out of the experience he had gained from his past life.

So, Woo-jin’s sabbatical was a way to refill his limited source of experience.

This was especially true for design, more than business.

“This is the HSBC Hong Kong headquarters building, CEO Seo Woo-jin,” said the guide.

Woo-jin replied, “Wow. So, this building was designed in the 70s.”

“That’s right. You probably know more about this than I do… It was designed by Britain’s best architect, Norman Foster,” the guide said.

“Is the inside completely open?” Woo-jin asked.

The guide laughed and said, “Haha, I’m not an architecture expert, so I can only say that the space is wonderful.”

Woo-jin explained, “There are almost no structures inside to hold up the building. The lighting also uses mostly natural light…”

The guide said, “I’m starting to feel bad about taking a fee for this.”

Woo-jin added, “The floor of the atrium is made of a giant mirror, which lets natural light into the entire building.”

Most of the Koreans who met Woo-jin knew who he was and were friendly. This made the trip much easier than Woo-jin had expected.

“Oh…! The outside of this building is really unique,” Woo-jin exclaimed.

The guide replied, “It’s called the Lippo Center. The outside looks like a koala hanging on it, so it’s also called the Koala Building.”

Woo-jin said, “Now that you mention it, it does look like koalas are clinging to it.”

The guide added, “It was designed by architect Paul Marvin Rudolph, who used to be the head of the Yale School of Architecture.”

Woo-jin’s journey, which started in Hong Kong, spread out and continued around the world.

After Hong Kong, his next stop was China.

China is one of the largest countries in the world, with a wide variety of architecture and spaces.

There were cities like Shanghai, filled with glittering skyscrapers, and cities like Beijing, where the beautiful heritage of the past, such as the Forbidden City, was preserved.

Woo-jin thought, ‘Wow…! This is truly another world. There are so many skyscrapers that Seoul can’t even compare.’

Woo-jin stayed in China for almost a month, then headed to Europe.

Europe is a continent where many different ethnic groups and cultures live together.

Woo-jin visited many countries, learned about the ethnic groups and cultures, and tried to understand the architecture and spaces that matched the feelings and times of each country.

This is because architecture is more closely related to human life than anything else.

While seeing different spaces and studying architecture, Woo-jin naturally gained a lot of knowledge.

“How could they have built such large buildings in ancient Rome? It’s amazing that they could build at this level with the technology they had at the time…” he wondered.

Of course, Woo-jin didn’t just go to see buildings.

Woo-jin had many connections in Europe.

This included Spanish architects like Bruno and Mateo, as well as other European architects he had met at architecture conferences.

Mateo greeted him, “Oh, Woo-jin! I never thought I’d see you again in Spain.”

Woo-jin replied, “Haha, Mateo. How have you been?”

Mateo said, “I’ve been good. I heard you’ve been very busy. What brings you to Spain?”

Woo-jin explained, “I’ve been finishing up some projects and I’m taking a year off.”

Mateo exclaimed, “Wow, a sabbatical. That’s great.”

Meeting with these connections helped Woo-jin gain even more experience.

Woo-jin asked, “By the way, Mateo, do you think I can see today?”

Mateo replied, “Of course. I was going to suggest it anyway.”

Woo-jin thanked him, “Haha, thank you.”

Mateo said, “In fact, when Olas feroces is finished, I wanted to call you before anyone else.”

Woo-jin replied, “It’s an honor.”

Mateo added, “It’s an honor for me. It’s a building that couldn’t have been created without you.”

In Spain, he was also able to visit the site of the new San Mames Stadium ‘Olas feroces’, which Woo-jin had helped design in 2011.

It wasn’t finished yet, but the main structure was almost complete. It was a beautiful stadium that showed off its impressive shape.

Looking around the site, Woo-jin felt another wave of emotion.

Mateo had designed most of Olas feroces, but Woo-jin’s contribution was also significant. He was proud that such a wonderful building was being built in Spain, on the other side of the world.

‘It’s being built so wonderfully. Mateo is amazing as expected,’ Woo-jin thought.

When he went to England, he also visited the AA School, where the conference had been held.

He was invited by architect Ethan, who had been against Woo-jin back in 2011.

At Ethan’s request, he gave a short talk to the students of AA School, the world’s best architecture school.

It was more of a casual sharing of stories about architecture than a formal lecture, which made it even more enjoyable and rewarding.

‘It’s already been a few months since I came to Europe,’ Woo-jin realized.

Woo-jin was enjoying these experiences, and time flew by. The year changed again.

It felt like just yesterday that he had welcomed 2014, but it was already 2015. Half of Woo-jin’s sabbatical had passed in an instant.

In the spring, he brought his mother and traveled with her for about a month.

Unlike the beginning of the trip, when he tried to see as much architecture and space as possible each day, Woo-jin now took his time.

His mother said, “Thanks to my son, I was able to come to Europe like this… Thank you, my son.”

Woo-jin replied, “You’re welcome, I should have done this sooner…”

She asked, “When are you coming back to Korea?”

Woo-jin answered, “I’ll be back soon, Mom.”

She said, “Okay. Always be careful…!”

After his mother returned to Korea, he traveled south to Africa.

Now, he didn’t feel forced to see any particular buildings.

Woo-jin was happy just to have new experiences every day.

He stayed in South America, where it wasn’t very safe, for about two or three weeks.

The amazing natural landscapes, like the Uyuni Salt Lake, gave Woo-jin new ideas, even though they weren’t buildings created by humans.

As time went on, Woo-jin’s last stop was the United States.

Woo-jin arrived in the United States in the early summer of 2015.

He thought, ‘I ended up coming to the United States last. I should relax here for the rest of my time and then go back.’

One day in August 2015, Woo-jin arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. He asked the same question at the gate as he had a year ago.

“Hello, flight attendant,” he said.

The flight attendant greeted him, “Welcome.”

Woo-jin asked, “What is the earliest international flight that I can book now?”

The flight attendant replied, “The earliest flight is at 5:25.”

Woo-jin asked, “Where is that flight going?”

The flight attendant answered, “Incheon International Airport in Korea.”

Woo-jin booked a flight to Korea.

“I’ll take that flight,” he said.

Golden Print