Minji Kim

We exist through our bodies, senses, and emotions.

For this reason, our existence cannot be separated from space. Wherever we are, we are always situated within a space, and we continuously perceive and respond to it. Space is therefore not simply a background for life, but something deeply connected to the way we exist. This relationship influences not only our everyday actions, but also the way we understand ourselves. 

Yet every person possesses different physical and personal characteristics. Through recognising and expressing these differences, we begin to understand ourselves and create meaning in our lives. This diversity also generates different forms of communication, relationships, and possibilities within society.

Within my small room, I explored ways of expressing my body, senses, and emotions through space. By observing bodily movement and occupation, I formed the basic territories of space. Through writing and drawing, I attempted to trace the relationship between emotion and spatial experience. Later, I documented my everyday behaviours through photography and video observation, discovering multiple ways in which space can be formed and inhabited. These processes gradually developed into a series of methods.

These methods are not only about self-discovery, but also about constructing personal reasons for shaping space. At the same time, this project suggests that spatial designers and architects should move beyond standardised arrangements and function-centred design, and instead create spaces based on a deeper understanding of individual users, their bodies, senses, and ways of living.

Minji Kim

Personal space is not defined by a border, 
it is continuously shaped through the act of crossing it.