The Memories of the Black Bricks is a collection of photographs of the Namyeong-dong Anti-Communist Investigation Office, which keeps a dark memory of Korean history during the military dictatorship. During the military dictatorship, it was a notorious place for suppressing democratization movements and violating the human rights of innocent citizens, but on the other hand, it was designed by famous architect Kim Soo-geun of the time, and it is a building that faithfully reflects the client’s intentions. In addition to the geographical features located in the center of Seoul, it also has the functional characteristics of ‘being thoroughly blocked from daily life’ expressed as ‘pulling’, ‘containment’, and ‘hidden’.
We designed the photobook with a layout that faithfully shows the photographs of Suyoungkul and Chung Taekyong photographers who recorded the Namyeong-dong Anti-Communist Investigation Office, which had been stalled since the military dictatorship. We also tried to capture the atmosphere of Namyeong-dong Anti-Communist Investigation Office in the photo book by utilizing the red tile color installed to avoid blood stains and the black color borrowed from the exterior wall color of the building.