Translation result
Houses that have accrued years carry a family’s history in their walls. For some, a house is the place they guarded for a lifetime; for others, it’s the plot they inherit and remake. EBS1’s House: An Architectural Inquiry uses two deeply personal homes—each shaped by memory and taste—to ask why we build. The episode follows a son who rebuilt his family home for his mother and a couple of avid campers who crafted a striking triangular house by hand.
First, in Mungyeong, North Gyeongsang Province, on a site that overlooks Gyeongcheon Lake, one family’s years have layered into the landscape. More than four decades ago, the father built a rice mill and adjoining residence there. That place has now been reborn under his son’s hands. Woo Jong-cheol, who runs a woodworking shop in Paju, split time between his workshop and Mungyeong to care for his mother. After his father died, his mother wanted to keep the familiar homestead, and he ultimately decided to tear down the old structure and build her a new house.
The design was centered entirely on his mother’s daily life. The kitchen and living room were combined into a single, compact space to minimize movement, and multiple doors were added to make entry and exit easier. Attention extended to details most people never notice. Insulation and construction were treated with particular care, leaving no room for compromise. As a carpenter who knows how wood shrinks and warps, Woo chose a lightweight steel frame over timber for greater stability, then doubled the insulation to ensure comfort. Throughout the house, choices reflect a determination to make his mother’s long-term stay as comfortable as possible.
The completed home was named Sosojae—an expression of hope that the house remain a place of quiet laughter. It has become more than his mother’s private refuge; all six siblings now gather there to spend time together. The space the father once made continues in the son’s hands, and the family’s memories persist in a new form.
The other house perches on a hill of tea fields in Hadong, South Gyeongsang Province. From a distance it reads like a large tent settled on the mountainside. The owners, Kim Wan-wook and Jo Min-seo, are long-time camping enthusiasts—16 years of visiting campsites at home and abroad. For them, building a house was always intended to be another kind of camping space.
Their connection to Hadong began almost accidentally. During the pandemic, a friend invited them to the area, and its vistas evoked memories of Switzerland, capturing their imaginations. Though it was a four-hour drive, the couple had often traveled far for a good view. For Min-seo, who had dreamed of a triangular house since childhood, the place offered a chance to realize that dream.
Building, however, proved harder than they anticipated. They built an outbuilding first to learn the craft, then applied those lessons to the main house. Erecting a structure that reached 5 meters high was challenging, and the long construction period and summer heat tested their endurance. From subfloor work to finishing touches, the couple did much of the labor themselves. Through the process, Wan-wook learned that building a house is more than a hobby.
The most arresting interior feature is the second-floor loft. Min-seo invested particular care in this space: climb the stairs and you enter a snug, enveloping nook. She borrowed the railing design from a subway station she often passed, and the loft’s tentlike intimacy most clearly reveals the couple’s love of camping. After the house was completed, the couple found they had little desire to camp elsewhere—the house itself became their most familiar campsite.
A decision born of an attraction to landscape has become a central part of their lives. There are still details to finish, but the couple plans to complete the house slowly, adding the things they love to shape a space that is uniquely theirs.
A house built for a mother and a couple’s realized dream—though born of different motives, both projects begin with care for someone else. EBS1’s House: An Architectural Inquiry airs on the 28th at 9:55 p.m.
※ This article was written without compensation.
Most Commented