A Four-Year-Old Moldy Ruin Becomes a Gallery

Because redevelopment has been confirmed, the space will disappear in about seven to eight years, and that is why Director Kang chose it.

The building had been bought by an acquaintance to obtain an apartment sale right, then left empty for four years. Director Kang was captivated by the panoramic view from Namsan to Bukaksan and signed a lease at low rent for the period until demolition.

The building has a distinctive structure in which natural bedrock is left exposed inside. The rock found during wall demolition is part of a rock mountain, so it has naturally flowed into the interior.

At first she went through a physical adjustment period because of the energy of the natural material, but now the rock is used as a unique design element that raises the value of the space.

Before remodeling, the wallpaper throughout the house was heavily moldy and stained after four years of neglect.

Because it was a space slated for demolition, Director Kang minimized costs, and with simple work such as rolling water-based paint on by hand, she greatly improved the atmosphere of the space.

She installed 5mm-thick vinyl tiles on the floor. The unartificial beauty of the exposed walls reflects a recent design trend of preserving the traces of an old space.

Director Kang created a painterly aesthetic through layered paint and wallpaper, which holds the traces of time in a raw space.

The bathroom floor was coated by hand with epoxy using a roller, and the walls were finished with water-based paint.

Director Kang said it is important to give the paint enough thickness to prevent cracking, and recommended applying at least two coats.

When she visited, all the internal piping had been damaged, so she installed it exposed.

To hide the exposed pipes, she stacked and set stones she normally used in her work, using a bolder design strategy that covers the spots she wanted to conceal.

Director Kang grew up in a film family: her father was a film director, her great-uncle a producer, and her youngest uncle a cinematographer. She was a member of a family that led the golden age of Korean cinema in the 1950s and 60s.

However, as foreign films flooded in, the family's fortunes declined, and she remembers living with five family members in a single room in a hillside neighborhood in Jeongneung. She always held the dream of having a room of her own.

After her divorce she came here and finally filled her first space with her own taste, and she confessed that she felt such deep happiness that she cried while showering in the bathroom.

She replaced the existing double-sided sliding windows and the walled-off section with a full-width picture window to secure the view. Director Kang deliberated for a week before making this decision.

As a space designer for exhibitions, she prioritized appreciation of the view and made a minimal investment, believing that whether or not there is a frame around the picture window determines the sense of openness.

Director Kang said the indoor temperature in winter is lower than at her previous home, Millie. At Millie she could walk around in shorts even in midwinter because it was so warm, but here, raising the indoor temperature above 15 degrees in winter requires accepting a heating bill shock.

To cut heating costs, she is actively using cold-weather supplies and adapting to the lower temperature.

Rather than undertaking any major construction, she changed the mood of the master bedroom using orange fabric left over from an exhibition.

This is an effective idea that tenants on monthly rent or jeonse leases can try without the burden of restoring the property. She advised that instead of finishing the walls, fabric or hanji can be used to create a very pleasant atmosphere.

Director Kang used unusual vintage furniture such as the Drexel Heritage table. This table is made to order by an American furniture company, one piece at a time, so it is a design that exists only once in the world.

Old furniture can gain value over time, so it can also be seen as a kind of investment. In preparation for the moment she leaves, she showed a tendency to prefer movable furniture over fixed pieces.

She likened the house to a blank canvas and defined it as a space in which to paint her own taste.

Interior design is an ongoing process rather than something finished, and she aspires to a way of living that focuses on present happiness over whether one owns the home.

Director Kang likened the house to a canvas that changes as time flows, rather than a fixed space. She defined the essence of interior design as the process itself, in which memories of the five senses accumulate.

Taste is neither something that comes all at once nor something you know just because someone teaches it; it is a direction you must keep painting until the day you die.

This house blends naturally with the scenery of Namsan visible from outside. Beyond the artificial interior, Boston ivy fills part of the red-brick house, creating a landscape in which nature and the building coexist.

Director Kang explained that rather than permanently postponing future happiness for the sake of ownership, one should focus on satisfaction in this very moment. The condition of a rented home became, paradoxically, a turning point that let her freely cultivate the space.

Even amid the sense of urgency that she must one day leave, she values the wisdom of living happily today, saying: "A home I make to be happy today, not tomorrow, that's what a rented home is."