Adoption of Modern Design Concept and Style: Sook-Jae Lim and his Works

한국 근대 디자인 개념과 양식의 수용 - 동경미술학교 도안과 유학생 임숙재(任璹宰)를 중심으로

This thesis is a study on Sook-Jae Lim(1899~1937) and Korean modern design. In modern Korea, design like most cultural advances came from western culture, that was introduced via Japan. So Korean design can be betterunderstood from observing Japanese modern design history. The research on Japanese modern design, however, is not being done actively. Sook-Jae Lim was the first Korean to graduate from the Department of Design at Tokyo Fine Arts School (currently the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music). He died at a premature 38 years old, so very little of his works exist. That makes the study about him very difficult. From this perspective, the study aims to examine modern design concepts and styles accepted into Korea from Japan and position Lim as an early design pioneer in Korean design history, by using research of Korean and Japanese design fields in the modern era with focus on Lim and his works. Chapter II researches the process of how the concept of design was formed in modern Japan and how the "Art-Nouveau" style not only represents early modern design but also features Lim's works dominantly. Chapter III looks into the process of how the concept of design was formed and which design styles were introduced and applied in modern Korea. Chapter IV analyzes how Lim's viewpoint on design and his works were developed with observations about the tendency of the Japanese design field and curriculums of the Tokyo Fine Arts School during the period of his college days.