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Old houses or buildings carry the essence of time gone by.
Even newly constructed buildings are erected upon the footsteps of the past.
Within architectural structures, there are spaces, time, and human actions encapsulated.

The significance of space lies in the fact that
memories linger within it.
Those old memories and traces become a force that
rejuvenates us once again.
The old buildings and houses from the Japanese colonial era make us ponder the true essence of what home means.

Photographer Jeon Jae-hong has documented modern architecture, including banks, government offices, Japanese shrines,
and other structures from the Japanese colonial period in Chungcheong-do and Jeolla-do.

The buildings captured in Jeon Jae-hong's photographs reveal the roots of key institutions and facilities that shape the modern landscape.
The narrow door of this building allows only a few individuals to enter, and this place served the function of transporting rice, materials, resources, and the like.

The artwork “Enemy Property_Gwangju” by artist Oh Suk-kuhn,
exhibited at this year's Gwangju Biennale, extends the passage of time within the old "Jeoksan Gaok (enemy property house)" building,
where the buildings of Gwangju's city center hide and breathe within the cast shadows.

The properties known as "enemy properties," once belonging to the enemy, hold symbolic national significance as remnants of colonialism.
However, they also carry memories intertwined with the lives and culture of both Japanese immigrants
who came to Korea and Koreans who resided there after liberation, shaped through the acquisition process.

The "tokonoma" which was a place for worshipping gods by the Japanese, has transformed into closets or bookshelves.
The use of flooring mats instead of traditional tatami and the adoption of floor
coverings reflect the projection of Korean life. Atop the "Jeoksan Gaok," the patterns of Korean lives are added,
and everyday actions are layered upon the canvas of the past, continuously transforming, growing,
and completing the house on the foundation of bygone times.
A home is where the traces of our lives are etched,
a place where time accumulates.

In the special exhibition of the Asia Culture Museum “Modern Architecture from the Viewpoint of Photographers,”
works by photographers Jeon Jae-hong, Kim Ki-chan, Lee Jung-lok, and Jo Choon-man offer a glimpse into the evolving landscape of modern Korean architecture and the facets of our lives within it.