Korean artist Choi Jae-eun has been invited to present her project about the Demilitarized Zone at the 15th Venice Architecture Biennale in May.

Entitled “Dreaming of Earth,” the work is a collaboration with Japanese architect Shigeru Ban, who was a winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2014 and who is also a long-time friend of Choi.

The premise behind “Dreaming of Earth” is Choi’s belief that the DMZ’s rich ecological heritage can help solve complex issues between North and South Korea, and help the two countries move towards reconciliation and unification. 

Her proposed idea is to open up part of the DMZ and build a 15-kilometer-long elevated walking trail. The trail will hang 3-6 meters above ground so as to protect wildlife from humans and humans from landmines.

On each end of the trail will stand two ecological facilities – an ecological library on the southern end and a seed bank on the northern end. The seed bank will store seeds of thousands of rare plant species found in the DMZ. The plan was designed by Ban.

“The DMZ was able to return to its original beautiful nature despite the bloody war that took place 65 years ago. This shows that the universe’s nature directs life and future. I believe that many other conflict zones around the world and our DMZ will be healed by the force of nature,” said Choi.

At the Venice Architecture Biennale, Choi and Ban will make a miniature model of “Dreaming of earth,” on a scale of 1:200. There will also be sounds and lights to highlight the rich ecological heritage of the DMZ. It will be on exhibit at the main International Architecture Exhibition of the biennale from May 28-Nov. 27. 

“I think my DMZ project was selected for the main exhibition as it relates to this year’s exhibition theme ‘Reporting from the Front,’” said Choi in an e-mail.

“In this model, a variety of issues will be explored, including the historical background of the DMZ, its ecosystem, the Castle of Gungye, landmines and seed bank,” Choi added.

Her work was selected by the director of the architecture exhibition, Chilean architect Alejandro Aravena, who chose the theme to explore architecture’s role in improving the quality of urban environments and consequently people’s quality of life.

By Lee Woo-young (wylee@heraldcorp.com)