The Korean Pavilion to spotlight 'hyper-shrinkage' and adaptive urban futures Lee Jang-hwan (Arts Council Korea) The Arts Council Korea (Arko) has appointed Architect Lee Jang-hwan as the artistic director of the Korean Pavilion at the 2027 Venice Biennale.Centered on the theme of hyper-shrinkage, the planned exhibition combines research on contemporary regional cities with proposals for future architectural and urban models.According to Arko, commissioner of the Korean Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, Lee focuses on abandoned spaces and aging residential structures left in the wake of rapid population decline. Many of these buildings have been modified through temporary architectural additions, conditions he sees as a potential preview of challenges that cities around the world may soon face.“(Lee proposed) a distinctive and persuasive perspective by approaching urban decline not as a crisis or deficiency but as an opportunity for new possibilities through spatial and planning strategies,” Arko said in a statement on the selection on Thursday.Lee has been researching Korean midsize cities with architect Lee Sang-hyun of Urban DNA of Daegu to examine how the rapid decline of the Korean population affects small and mid-sized regional cities, which are facing extinction.Arko also noted that a record 20 teams applied to curate the Korean Pavilion during the application period from Jan. 7 to Feb. 9.The Venice Biennale, the world’s most prestigious art and architecture biennale, takes place every year, rotating between art and architecture.The 20th edition of the architecture exhibition at the 2027 Venice Biennale will take place from May 8 to Nov. 21. Chinese architects Wang Shu and Lu Wenyu of Amateur Architecture Studio will be the directors.Lee previously worked at the Rotterdam-based architecture firm OMA, where he contributed to projects including the Qatar National Library.