Interview with Dr. Whee-Young Oh, Korean Modern Landscape Architecture Pioneer

The prominence of South Korean landscape architecture is largely a result of the leadership and inspiration of one man: Dr. Whee-Young Oh who is called the “Korean Frederick Law Olmsted” by his countrymen. From an interview with Dr. Oh we learned that as a public servant, he led development and preservation policies through a period of South Korea’s rapid industrialization and urbanization. Working for President Park, Dr. Oh authored many of his nation’s environmental, planning, and development laws and policies, always inserting landscape architects into important roles. He facilitated the establishment of Natural Environment Conservation Act (NECA) in 1977. He also initiated to establish a legislative basis to include landscape architecture as a separate professional industry from architecture, forestry, and horticulture. Dr. Oh led the foundation of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture, while helping to establish both professional and business licensure. As the first Korean to introduce landscape architecture to the nation, Dr. Oh has been a leading academic and publisher. Dr. Oh, suggests that landscape architecture profession should be very smart in sharing the visions, and provide new visions that together we can find better ways to improve, regenerate, and heal our cities and environment