Authors

Tretyakova Maria S., Fhilonenko Nadezhda S.
The semantic core of Korean design: restraint and spontaneity

Architecton: Proceedings of Higher Education №3 (95) September, 2026

The article is devoted to the definition of the semantic core of Korean design. To do this, the authors turn to the structure of the aesthetic consciousness of Koreans, formed primarily by Korean neo-Confucianism. Since Korean neo-Confucianism is characterized by the opposition of the moral law of "lee" and the energy of "qi" permeating all things, the authors build the key words defining the semantic core of Korean design in accordance with this opposition: social orientation and minimalism (the sphere of "li"), naturalness and sensitivity (the sphere of "qi"). As Korean shamanism and Chinese Taoism also influenced the aesthetic consciousness of Koreans, Koreans began to associate "qi" with a bubbling vitality that, in the creative impulse of the master, seemed to spill out. In the Confucian era of Joseon (XIV-XIX centuries) this led to the formation of the "wrong" beauty of the "meot", balancing Confucian restraint with the spontaneity of an emotional response. Today, this aesthetic defines the "taste" of regional Korean design.

Fhilonenko Nadezhda S., Musinova Irina A.
The “Body-oriented” approach of the South Korean brand “True to Type”

Architecton: Proceedings of Higher Education №1 (93) March, 2026

We have studied the True to Type brand’s design approach, which claims to represent “next generation” South Korean design. The purpose is to use the example of this South Korean brand to show one of the ways to rethink the regional tradition based on the "bodily mind" of the master. To do this, the authors not only refer to various interviews with the brand's chief designer Kim Jinsik in which the designer outlines his understanding of the brand's values, but also expand the historical and cultural context (intuitive to a native speaker of Korean culture, but requiring clarification for Russian audience), based on research by Korean philosophers and art historians in English and Korean. We conclude that Kim Jinsik seeks to find an analogy to "multisensory design" in the regional cultural tradition, thereby showing his solidarity with global trends.