Korean architecture is stepping onto the global stage with renewed confidence. In 2024, the Hanok Heritage House, designed by architect Sangyoon Kim, won first place in the hotel category of the Prix Versailles, the world architecture and design award co-hosted by UNESCO and the International Union of Architects. It is the first time a Korean project has earned the award’s highest honor, marking a turning point for the nation’s design identity.
Unlike many designers who follow international trends, Kim has dedicated his career to reinterpreting the essence of Korean tradition for contemporary life. His work avoids nostalgic replication; instead, it uncovers how heritage can remain vital when reshaped for the present and the future. In the Hanok Heritage House, the harmony with nature, the open courtyard, and the rhythm of wooden structures all hallmarks of the hanok are reimagined as a modern language of hospitality. Here, craftsmanship is not decoration but the very framework shaping light, atmosphere, and movement.
Kim’s philosophy has also been evident in the Donor Collection galleries of the National Museum of Korea, where his design connects private acts of generosity with the broader cultural memory of the nation. Through spaces that balance intimacy and monumentality, he demonstrates how tradition can continue to inspire relevance in today’s social context.
The Prix Versailles recognition goes beyond a single building. It signifies a symbolic moment in which Korean architecture has entered global architectural discourse not as an imitator of styles but as a voice with its own authenticity.
Kim’s work suggests that cultural integrity is more powerful than stylistic mimicry. By bridging tradition and innovation, the local and the universal, he has opened a path for Korean design to resonate internationally. The Hanok Heritage House is not only a celebration of the past — it is a proposal for the future, where history and modern life coexist seamlessly.
