A Korean-Japanese Architect’s Story: Jun Itami
Welcome back to Surviving in the World (SIW), your newsletter written by students for those interested in global affairs. We always try to present select topics in global news in an easy-to-understand format.
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In today’s letter, we introduce Jun Itami (Yoo Dongryong), a Korean-Japanese architect known as the "Architect of Nature."
Brought to you by: Keonhee Ahn(’25), Editor-In-Chief.
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Word Count: 563/ Time: 5 minute read.
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Who is he?: Jun Itami( (Dong-ryong Yoo), a Korean-Japanese architect, was born and raised in Japan, yet to keep his Korean identity alive, he refused to be naturalized until his death in June 26, 2011. Itami’s name was a combination of the name of Osaka Itami Airport and the stage name Yoshia Jun which belonged to his close musician friend Gil Ok-Yoon.
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He was "the last remaining analog architect," embracing climate, nature, history, and people, bringing warmth to the world. (Source:Itami Museum)
The Architect with an International Architectural Presence: In 2003, Itami was the first architect to have his works displayed at his solo exhibition at “Musée Guimet”, a world renown museum in Paris which displays various artistic pieces from Asia.
Itami’s exhibition shed light onto the obscure country of Korea. His architectural works educated Parisians on what Korean architecture was, the importance and value of these works, as well as the need for a bridge between tradition and modernity.
In 2005, Itami was awarded Chevalier and Legion d'Honneur, France's highest order of arts and culture, in recognition of his contributions to the development of Korean and French culture. He is the first Asian architect to receive these honors.
Additional Honors:
2006-Asian Cultural Environment Award, Kim Soo-geun Architecture Award.
2008-Korean Architectural Culture Awards Excellence Award.
2010-Murano Dogo Award, Japan's most prestigious architectural award.
Itami’s Works: Itami Jun’s most prominent works include the Grape Hotel and Ark Church in Jeju Island, and the Water, Wind, and Stone Art Museum.
It is a church inspired by Noah's Ark, renowned for its beautiful architecture.
(Source:Architectural-Review “Ark Church”)
Adversity: Despite Itami Jun’s efforts to promote the beauty of Korea by travelling between Japan and Korea, he was regarded as a Japanese person by Koreans and a Korean by Japanese, never truly being accepted by either country.
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In 2004, Itami Jun submitted a design for the soon to be built Gyeongju Tower. Although Itami Jun only won second place in the competition, when the tower was finished in 2007, the design of the tower was suspiciously similar to the design that Itami submitted. In 2011, the Korean Supreme Court ruled in favor of Itami Jun and that the design copyright of the Gyeongju Tower belonged to Itami Jun.
Why you should care: Itami Jun was a world-class architect who lived on the line of being Korean and Japanese. Yet, his circumstances did not constrain him to conforming to either culture, effortlessly fusing contemporary art with architecture.
His buildings were constructed with natural materials and are famous for having close ties with water, light, wind and other natural elements.​​​​​
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