Architecture and filmmaking are not the two most obvious artistic bedfellows. But for Lee Yong-joo, an architecture graduate from Yonsei University, the appeal of the latter tempted him away from his original path, and in 2009 he wrote and produced his first film, horror flick “Living Death”. A mild success, it convinced him to return to what he knew best for his next film, the nostalgic romance of “Architecture 101”. A surprise smash hit in South Korea, the story revolved around two students who meet at an introductory class on architecture in college, fall in love, but soon drift apart.

ARTINFO JAPAN caught up with Lee in Okinawa to discuss his thoughts on traditional Korean hanok, modern Korean architecture in Gangnam, and Korea’s fading architectural heritage.