Architectural photographer Kim Yong-kwan shines light on the genre

Architectural photographer Kim Yong-kwan proves that the genre is highly underrated. To quote Kim, he is not an artist that creates images, but instead finds them. And the images he finds are indeed worth admiring. For the past 30 years, Kim has...

"Ulleung Island Healing Stay Kosmos" (2017) by Kim Yong-kwan [KIM YONG-KWAN]

Architectural photographer Kim Yong-kwan proves that the genre is highly underrated. To quote Kim, he is not an artist that creates images, but instead finds them.

And the images he finds are indeed worth admiring.

For the past 30 years, Kim has taken photos of buildings designed by internationally-renowned architects including Dominique Perrault, Cho Byoung-soo, David Chipperfield and Itami Jun.

Kim’s ability to smoothly capture the structures blending with nature is what makes his pictures so interesting. He interprets architecture as a part of an entire landscape.

For example, he’s taken a photograph of the rough, ragged surface of a concrete wall in the Jipyungzip guest house in South Gyeongsang which appears like a landscape painting.

"Jipyungzip guest house" (2020) by Kim Yong-kwan [SHIN MIN-HEE]

During a press event for his latest solo show at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) in Jung District, central Seoul, Kim reflected on how his perspective has changed on architecture and his photos.

“I think it’s misleading to say that my images are solely mine because the credit also goes to the architects,” Kim said. “I’ve come to realize how important it is to understand the process of how these buildings were designed and to widen my view. In that regard, I suddenly no longer view architecture as just architecture; I try to get a grasp of the relation between architecture with the earth and nature.”

His “Documentations of Relationships, Architecture towards a Scenery” exhibition has seen Kim handpick 40 pieces that all have a story to tell, with some even correlating with each other.

Architectural photographer Kim Yong-kwan speaks during a press event for his solo exhibition "Documentations of Relationships, Architecture towards a Scenery" at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza in central Seoul on May 8. [SHIN MIN-HEE]

Kim emphasizes that the quality of his photographs is crucial, which is why he printed them in large scale and framed them in wooden frames measuring well over 1 meter (3.2 feet) in both width and length to allow audiences to fully appreciate the details. Even the glass covering the photographs is so crystal-clear that it is barely detectable.

His editing technique also stands out from other photographers: He does not composite multiple photographs together to make a perfect final version, but he takes a single photo and makes minor edits by hand.

“Sometimes I take less than three to four pictures for the entire day,” Kim said. “I feel like I have a sense of responsibility for every single picture I take. So I try to get the best data for each scene like lighting, and edit manually. You’ll see that some lines aren’t perfectly straight — I’ve left them as they are because I think it's better to leave them in their most natural state.”

"Sangam-dong JTBC" (2020) by Kim Yong-kwan [SHIN MIN-HEE]

Kim has been recording Korean architecture since the 1990s, kicking off his career as a photographer for the local architecture magazines “C3” and the longest-running local magazine “Space.” In 1999, he became the first Korean recipient of an architectural photo award from the American Institute of Architects, or AIA. He’s also donated some 10,000 photographs to the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art.

“I want to emphasize that this is not a retrospective; I still have so much to do,” Kim said. “I just wanted to show the public the existence of the architectural photography genre and that it’s possible to have a meaningful experience through these pictures.”

“Documentations of Relationships, Architecture towards a Scenery” continues through Aug. 6. The DDP is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day. The exhibition is free to all.

"DDP" (2023) by Kim Yong-kwan [KIM YONG-KWAN]

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]