OVERVIEW

THE NOTIONS OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SPACE ARE NOT SO CLEARLY DEFINED IN KOREA. A DISTINCT BORDERLINE BETWEEN THESE TWO SPATIAL CONCEPTS DOES NOT EXIST. PUT SIMPLY PUBLIC AND PRIVATE DOMAINS ARE VERY MUCH INTERTWINED AND INTERCHANGEABLE. THE KOREAN WORD "BANG" IS USED TO DESCRIBE SPACES THAT FALL INTO THIS NEBULOUS CATEGORY. EVEN THOUGH THE WORD CAN SIMPLY BE TRANSLATED TO ENGLISH AS "ROOM", THE MEANING IS MORE COMPLEX. A 'BANG' IS MOSTLY A PLACE THAT IS COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE FOR HIRE BY THE PUBLIC, WHERE THEY CAN ENGAGE IN PRIVATE PERHAPS INTIMATE ACTS, OR CONVERSELY THEIR ACTIONS CAN BE TURNED INTO SPECTACLE AND THEREFORE BE MADE PUBLIC.
THESE SPACES EXIST MOSTLY BEHIND CLOSED DOORS AND ARE HARDLY EVIDENT WITHIN THE CITY'S VISUAL STRUCTURE. IN CONTRARY THIS PHOTOGRAPHIC SERIES IS BASED ON AN EXTERIOR VIEW OF VARIOUS BUILDINGS' THAT MIGHT CONTAIN THESE SPACES. AS THE WORD BANG IS A SPACIAL CONCEPT, WHICH ABOLISHES PRIVATE INDIVIDUAL BORDERS THAT ARE BASED ON A WESTERN SPACIAL CONCEPT, "BANGS" ARE REPRESENTED THROUGH THE DISTANT VIEW IN THESE PHOTOGRAPHS AS AN OPEN RATHER THAN A CLOSED SPACE. THEREFORE, THE NOT SO IMPORTANT LIVING BASED CONCEPT OF THE WORD "BANG" IN KOREA IS VISUALLY NEGATED IN THESE PHOTOGRAPHS. THE BELOW IMAGES FIRST HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED IN THE GERMAN ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE TITLE STADTBAUWELT. FOR MORE INFO SEE THE LINK BELOW.