B.S., M.S. Seoul National University, Korea
M.Arch. Yale University, U.S.
Ph.D. University of Pennsylvania, U.S.

Jin Baek earned his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science from Seoul National University, Master of Architecture from Yale University, and completed his Ph.D. in the history and theory of architecture at the University of Pennsylvania. Before joining the Department of Architecture and Architectural Engineering, Seoul National University, he taught theory, design studios and history at the University of South Florida, Pennsylvania State University and University of Tokyo. He is studying architectural and urban theories based on phenomenology. He is exploring universally acceptable themes from a global perspective, and based on these, he is interpreting the historical trajectory and significance of modern and contemporary Korean architecture and urban development. He is examining the foundational and ethical roles of architecture and urban planning, and also exploring the correlations between history, technology, and future urban discourses. He is the author of Nothingness: Tadao Ando’s Christian Sacred Space (Routledge, 2009), Architecture as the Ethics of Climate (Routledge, 2016) and Punggyeongryuheang (Drifting through Landscapes) (Hyohyung, 2013). His articles have been published in leading architectural and philosophical journals such as the Architectural Research Quarterly, Journal of Architectural Education, Architectural Theory Review, Center, Philosophy East and West, Buildings, Open House International, JAABE and so forth. He has organized many international symposia and conferences, including the <International Architecture and Phenomenology Conference> and <Asia Cities Culture>. He has given talks as a keynote speaker and an invited speaker at many international events. He organized a symposium titled <The Mundanity and Transcendence of Historical Buildings: The Future of the Former National Buyeo Museum>, exploring the new future and possibilities of the Former National Buyeo Museum, one of the representative works of modern and contemporary Korean architecture. He gave lectures titled <Construction and Cultural Significance of Architecture> and <Justice and the City> as part of the <Seoul National University Knowledge and Liberal Arts Lecture – The Key to Thought, A Thousand Keywords> series on Naver TV. He is currently writing a book titled <Justice and the City.> In collaboration with the members of the <Architectural and Urban Theory Research Lab>, he is involved in various projects related to architectural and urban theory. These include studying the evolution of modern and contemporary Korean architecture and urbanism; planning and designing communal housing for low-income populations in Korea, China, and Japan that serve as institutions for non-familial community activation; and examining the changing nature of infrastructural institutions such as correctional facilities and cremation services, the correlated transformation of urban spatial structure and the future scenarios of the institutions. He is also researching urban transformation of spatial structures in megacities, and the development of alternative urban models.