Meet Jung Young-sun, South Korea’s pioneering landscape architect reinventing Korean gardens

For many, the profession of landscape architect may be unfamiliar. Their work, however, plays a crucial role in shaping modern urban living and profoundly impacts everyday life. The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) is set to open a large-scale exhibition featuring the works of first-generation landscape architect Jung Young-sun. Throughout her 50-year career, she has devoted herself to modernizing traditional garden design and reimagining the Korean garden, while respecting and preserving the biodiversity of indigenous species at the same time. Titled "For All That Breathes on Earth," the exhibition showcases Jung's representative projects from the 1970s, featuring some of the country's most iconic buildings and architectural projects. These include Gwanghwamun Plaza, Incheon International Airport, the Seoul Botanic Garden, the Seoul Arts Center, Hoam Art Museum, and the Asian Athlete's Apartment Complex, among many others. The exhibition also presents a diverse array of archival mater ials, including drawings, blueprints, models and videos, illustrating her lifelong dedication to fostering modern living in harmony with nature. Additionally, the museum commissioned Jung to transform its central and backyards into gardens. "I feel honored that the museum is hosting an exhibition in my field. I am truly thrilled. It feels almost like a miracle," Jung said during a press briefing held at the MMCA on Thursday. "I decided to have this exhibition, believing that I can contribute to the advancement of my discipline and pave the way for those who follow in my footsteps." Born in 1941, she developed an early interest in botany during her childhood, spending time in her grandfather's orchard and tending to her school's greenhouse during high school. She graduated from the Department of Agriculture at Seoul National University (SNU) in 1964 and became one of the first graduate students at SNU's Graduate School of Environmental Studies in 1975, when the concept of landscape design was still emerging and relatively new. Five years later, she earned a license as the country's first woman land development engineer. In 1987, she founded Seo-Ahn Total Landscape and began to actively participate in a number of key public and private landscape design projects. The museum noted Jung's professional journey is deeply intertwined with the evolution of the country's landscape architecture. Last year, she received the prestigious Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe Award from the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA) in recognition of her "exceptional design capability, poetic sensibility, and 50 years of professional experience." The IFLA highlighted her as "one of the significant professionals with exceptional work and a significant contribution to the field of landscape architecture." "Landscape architecture can be a poem written on earth and it can resonate deeply," she wrote for her exhibition. "Just as the sight of a rainbow in the sky makes our hearts skip a beat, I hope the gardens we tender, stroke a nd nurture will be a source of inspiration and a moment of healing and recovery for all." The exhibition opens Friday, coinciding with Arbor Day in the country, and will run until Sept. 22. Source: Yonhap News Agency