SHINHEE PARK
This is Home
a collection of plays by Woo-jae Jang
: Production Design Workshop II, Hongik University (2021)
Time : 2000s
Place : Seoul, South Korea
Genre : Drama, Thriller
Synopsis
Gabja Gosiwon is a little special, old Gosiwon
(Korean accommodations which have very small rooms that usually students or low incomers live in).
Depending on the owner's will, the room price is also half of that of other Gosiwon, but instead, there are their rituals.
The owner does this because he thinks people in Gabja Gosiwon are staying here for only a while to return to normal society. Then one day, a new owner, a 20-year-old high school student, comes to visit there. A few months ago,
the landlord who said he was going to his son's house died and handed over the Gosiwon to his grandson.
While people are nervous, the high school student suddenly refuses to take rent.
He says it's because Gabja Gosiwon is now his home and he's the head of the house.
As a result of that, more people gather at the Gosiwon and are full of vitality.
However, Mr. Jang, the oldest member of the Gosiwon, can no longer watch that.
Single-person households have been established as a trend of a new generation
who can demand independent and active lives. Today's reality of neighbors becoming families
enables an interpretation of the fundamental function and meaning of 'home' from another perspective.
Tone & Manner
Depression / Loneliness / Failure / Muddy / Rusty
Moon town
Moon Town is a hillside village in Korea where low-income households usually reside.
The village is characterized by steep hills, and houses are connected by numerous stairs, making it challenging to navigate. Its name "Moon Town" is derived from the proximity of the moon to the higher area of the village.
Gosiwon
Gosiwon is a type of Korean accommodation with very small rooms typically occupied by students or individuals with low incomes. These accommodations are usually rented on short-term leases and often do not include private bathrooms. In some cases, there is a common room for laundry and a basic kitchen with shared food supplies. The rooms are situated close to each other with a narrow corridor in between, leading to poor sound insulation.
Characters
Dong-kyo (17)
a high school student
who became the new owner of Gabja Gosiwon.
Mr. Jang (60)
Inflexible, patriarchal man who is the oldest member of the Gosiwon.
He does not think Gabja Gosiwon is his home.
Mr. Yang (55)
A talkative, cunning man.
Mr. Choi (48)
A heavy drinker who often beats his wife.
Mrs. Choi (45)
A committed Christian who has a guilt of losing her child.
Mrs. Yang (49)
An optimistic, nebby woman
who loves watching TV shows.
Young-min (29)
A young man who studies for an examination.
Reference images of exterior
Many residence buildings have outdoor stairs that lead to the rooftop.
Many houses use green or blue steel doors, and there are bicycles, gas cylinders, and trash cans in the narrow alleys.
Also, old supermarkets used to rent small buildings' 1st floor.
Exterior of Gabja Gosiwon
2D composition on a rendered image
Day
Night
Rooftop
Floor plan
Gabja Gosiwon consists of three floors.
The first floor has a supermarket and a small warehouse.
The second floor is a common space, and the third floor is a residential space.
2nd floor
The second floor includes a kitchen and a bathroom.
Since most of the tenants are elderly, there is also a table for them to play Go.
Overall, the floor is simple and does not have many objects.
Tenants can use either the inner or outer stairs.
View from outer stairs.
3rd floor
Rough sketch
One the third floor, six rooms and one restroom for seven people are located.
Hallway
Dong-kyo's room
It is the widest of the six rooms, and only his room has a terrace.
It is overall well-organized, and there are many philosophical books, which show his mysterious personality.
Mr. Jang's room
Mr. Jang is the only one who does not think Gabja Gosiwon is home.
He keeps old awards and old photos because he misses the glory of the past.
There is a safe that he saves money to escape here, and props related to his hobby of newspaper clippings.
Mr. Yang's room
His room is dirty and unmade. Clothes and bottles of liquor are scattered here and there.
Also, there are Hwatu(gambling card game which originated in Japan) cards.
Mr. Choi's room
There are many bottles of alcohol and not many furniture in the room.
Mrs. Yang & Mrs. Choi's room
Mrs. Yang and Mrs. Choi share a bunk bed in one room.
Most of the items belong to Mrs. Yang, while Mrs. Choi's belongings are rarely unpacked and are stored in suitcases and boxes. In the room, there is a laundry rack, and there is a cross attached to the wall next to Mrs. Choi's bed.
Originally, it was one room, but the owner of the Gosiwon divided it into two, so the sound insulation is even worse.
Young-min's room
He is the sole student among the tenants of the Gosiwon.
Despite the presence of numerous books, he actually prefers playing computer games.
There is no chair in his room; instead, a state-of-the-art computer is placed in the small and unclean space.