"Korean Culture News" Vol.20 Interior Designer Jo Hyunseok

Looking back, I've loved cars since I was little, and collected car magazines and miniature cars. Looking back, that may have been my awakening to design. Later, while studying design at university, I became interested in furniture, tableware, and interior design, which led me to study architecture.

I can't narrow it down to just one, but when people ask me who my favorite architect is, I always say Le Corbusier. I also like the Portuguese modernist architects Álvaro Siza and Souto de Moura.

When I was a student, I did an internship at an architecture firm, and at that time I felt that interior design was more suitable for me. After that, I had the opportunity to do an internship at an interior design firm, and I started working there before graduating. If I continued working in interior design, I would be able to work with a variety of architects, and I thought that would be more interesting.

I went independent in 2019 and worked alone for about four years, but gradually more people started helping me out, and now we are a team of four.

Korean lifestyle beauty brand NONFICTION opened its first Japanese street-level store in Daikanyama in March this year, housed in a renovated old wooden building.

We are a fragrance brand, but scents are very delicate. We focused on designing the space to eliminate unnecessary elements as much as possible, so that customers could focus on the scent.

We made the most of the original architectural elements, such as the large pillars, while being conscious of making the identity of Nonfiction permeate naturally. Of course, as it is a store, we also took into consideration the flow of traffic. We believe we have created a space where customers can stay for a long time.

Thank you. What I like is not a place that is overwhelming, but a simple space that makes the most of the space itself, which is similar to the worldview created by Nonfiction, so I was able to work very comfortably.

I was asked to recommend some stores that capture the current state of Korean culture, and this store is one of them. This is because here you can not only find products, but also experience Korean culture.

The window displays a table created by New York-based writer Kim Min-jae for Nonfiction, while the interior displays works by ceramic artist Cho Hee-jin and acrylic artist Yoon Ra-hee.

I always think, "I want to spend each day beautifully." It may be simple, but I feel that surrounding myself with beautiful everyday items that I love and seeing and experiencing important things every day ultimately leads to good work.