Myoung Oak Kim

Alumni Profile: Myoung Oak Kim, M.S. Interior Design '82

Alumna Myoung Oak Kim, M.S. Interior Design '82, was the first woman to chair the Korean Pratt Alumni Association (2007-2009). "The Korean Pratt graduates are certainly active and powerful participants in the Korean art scene," she says. "Contemporary Asians have become increasingly interested in art and culture as their quality of life improves. I am convinced that art will play an important role in revitalizing Korean urban areas." A full-time professor at Duksung Women's University, Seoul since 1996, Kim also works on private interior design projects and pursues research inspired by her belief that the quality of human life can be improved through a better environment.

"The Pratt Interior Design graduate program was one of the best in the U.S.A.," she recalls, "and I wanted to have an opportunity to work in New York City after graduating. Overcoming the language barrier was probably my most difficult challenge." She did so and was soon working as an interior designer at Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, an internationally recognized architecture firm. The experience of working there led Kim to pursue a master's degree in architecture, which she received from the University of Pennsylvania in 1986.

Kim returned to her homeland in 1983, where she headed her own firm, INEX Design, served as expert advisor to The National Museum of Contemporary Art, and as visiting critic to Konkuk University's Graduate School of Architecture. Kim also has exhibited installations in galleries and museums in Seoul and recently contributed ideas to the Gyunggy Museum Revitalization Plan of 2008. She intends to create and manage a project in the Samchung-dong area in Seoul, one of the fastest developing art districts in Korea.

Kim advises young designers, "Be open-minded about other genres you are involved in, and cooperate with other professionals and artists whose perspectives and skills are valuable."

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