Cheol-hun Park who was confidently settled as an Asian yacht designer in the ‘super yacht’ market is considered to be an explorer who ventured into the path that hasn’t been traveled by any Korean, experienced advanced forward-looking business, and found entertainment through direct participation. After graduating from the Department of Industrial Design in Kookmin University in 2008, he studied in the graduate course of the Royal College of Art in the U.K. majored in transportation design. Currently, he is working as a designer in Palmer Johnson Group (The largest super yacht production company in the U.S.) that offered sponsorship from his graduate course to internship and graduation exhibition. Here is Cheol-hun Park who is living his dream as a yacht designer in Monaco.

Is there any special reason for you to dream of being ‘a yachtdesigner?’

I was born in Ulsan, the center of the shipbuilding industry in Korea. My father has been working in Hyundai Heavy Industries for 39 years. During my childhood, I was always surrounded by sea so I thought everyone in the world was living next to the sea. My father sometimes takes me to his workplace and in those times, I was overwhelmed by the enormous ships sized about 300 meters on the seas and my heart was pounding wildly. During my university life, I realized that yacht design was the convergence of my surroundings from my childhood, the heart-pounding experience at my father’s work, and my major, which is design and since then, I exerted tremendous efforts towards my dream.

There must be times when you were about to give up your dream of becoming a yacht designer. When was the most challenging time and how did you overcome the difficulties?

The most challenging time was when I studied in the U.K. I felt I had the world when I entered the Royal College of Art that prides about 170 years of history and produced Ian Callum, the chief designer of Jaguar (former Aston Martin) and Peter Schreye, who is even famous in Korea as the best chief design officer of Kia Motors. However, it seemed that I don’t belong there as that place was only for the world’s best. I had to overcome frustration each and every day. The curriculum was very helpful from the aesthetic perspective as it was organized based on vehicle area; however, I was very confused when I had my internship, which had to be completed during vacations, as it was available mostly among motor companies. I was very much concerned about my path whether to shift my direction to vehicle area and safely complete the internship or to take on the uncertain direction towards yacht design. Now that I am thinking that I made the right decision as I wanted to pursue the dream I had faith on. The road taken by the majority is not always the right path and there are many cases that require fierce competition and survival skills. Therefore, I advise you to pioneer the path that you trust by making the best use of your talent.

I wonder how you start your career at your current job. How did you prepare to enter this company?

During my graduate school period in London, many major motor companies requested internship of outstanding individuals to the school during the summer vacation. As the curriculum of the graduate school focused on motor and vehicle, there was not much information available on yacht companies. So with the list of the businesses included in the annual book of super yacht from the tutor, I selected about 15 companies with a desperate mind. I contacted them through email and sent my portfolio. Luckily, I was expecting the final interview with a German motor company and internship in a Japanese motor company. Meanwhile, the CEO of Palmer Johnson Group where I wanted to go the most made a direct contact so I decided my internship. Since a portfolio represents a person prior to entering the company, it is important to exert efforts when producing one’s portfolio. Basically, the content should be solid; however, it is worst if one’s works are not reviewed properly. In order to draw attention of the human resource director who reviews dozens of portfolios each day, I bought a high-definition printer and used a slightly bigger paper to stand out among other portfolios that were uniformly produced with A4 paper. I intended to draw attention starting from the portfolio cover by wrapping the hard cover with leather-inspired fabric while building the strategy to leave a gentle yet decisive impression to the human resource director. Eventually, many companies contacted me for further interview.

I wonder how you are inspired for your design work. Is there any special way in conceptualizing your ideas?

There is no specific way to be inspired for my design but I do a particular thing that is normally done in my daily life to get fresh ideas. I draw dozens of similar-looking cars or yachts to improve my sketch skill or appreciate the famous artworks without personally saving or frequent visits. I rather try to remember the general images of artworks. Human naturally gets used to repeated behavior and at some point, I may get used to doing a certain thing if I keep drawing or seeing the same brand of product. In the end, the effort for improvement hinders having a creative imagination.

Please tell me about your favorite artwork.

The Valkyrie yacht that is my graduation work in the master’s course in May 2012 is my most memorable and favorite work. I did not adopt the straight mono hull that is conventionally used for the body of a yacht but went for the tri-maran hull with flaps for the design and in the Palmer Johnson Group, it was the design that was first applied to the series of yachts for the luxury yacht industry. Aiming to open to the public in the Monaco Yacht Show that was set to be held in September 2012, the body design was completed investing 1 year and it was confidentially secured due to the nature of the industry. However, the Group CEO saw my graduation design with the applied tri-maran hull and he was very satisfied with my work. He was willing to sponsor my graduation work and provide support for its application to the body design.

Themed as ‘the floating island that offers new entertainment not only to individual yacht owners but also to the public’ for the overall concept, I made allocations for a casino, theater, and restaurant while applying experimental curve transcending conventional linear design from the yacht exterior. It was the only yacht design during the graduation exhibition in 2012 as well as the artwork that realized my dream of designing a yacht for my graduation work as I mentioned in my admission interview of Royal College of Art.

What is the most important thing for your design work?

Since a yacht is a transportation means as well as a living space, there are many things to be considered. In order to harmonize with the surroundings and maximize a pleasant life on the water, priority is given to secure naturally-lighted environment and interior space. However, such effort may result in dull-looking exterior of a yacht, veering away from being sharp. Thus, I focus on designing a sophisticated yacht that doesn’t follow trends in conjunction with the afore-mentioned requirement.

 What is the best and worst moments that you have had during your career as a designer?

As a designer, the best moment is always the time when my work is revealed to the public. The most memorable moment is the Monaco Yacht Show, the world’s biggest yacht show held in September 2012. In this show, a new model of Palmer Johnson Group that had been developed behind closed doors for 1 year and 6 months was finally opened to the public and it was also the moment when I made my first stride as a Korean yacht designer in the yacht industry, which was considered to be a field exclusive for Europeans. When people expressed their interest and praised my work that reflected my efforts and commitment, the hardships and challenges that I had gone through were definitely worth it. As the loud horn sound signaled the end of the yacht show, the CEO thanked me and tapped my shoulder. It is definitely the best moment of my career.

As all those who work with a computer understand, the worst moment is when I failed to save my work or when the file was corrupted due to blackout or computer error. The desperation and frustration at that time cannot be described. Don’t forget to save using ctrl+s.

How do you remember your campus life at Kookmin University College of Design?

As I decided to become a yacht designer, I visited the shipbuilding yards in Korea and met many famous people. However, what I heard from them was ‘it is impossible.’ Or making a ferry by studying shipbuilding engineering would be the best I could do to get closer to my dream. However, the automobile industry that used to produce a box-type car is now generating a great deal of demand in terms of design aspect as competition in the industry became very stiff and technology evolved so much. Likewise, I think there will be a great change in the exterior of a yacht that has currently no particular feature. The College of Design in Kookmin University that actualized my vague faith means more to me than anything else.

Would you like to leave a comment to your juniors in Kookmin University?

I think design is ‘an essay question without an exact answer.’ There is no right answer in design, thus, there is no perfect design that can satisfy every person in the world. What I like to say to those who take their first step in the field of design is to be free from the idea of seeking the right answer or coming up with the best design. Instead, if you enjoy the course of pure creation and are willing to make others happy with your creation, then many people will be happy and satisfied with your design at some point. No great thing is achieved easily. Also, creation of an artist is quite challenging and there are so many people with exceptional talent. Do not regret your own decision but keep moving towards your dreams to prove that you made the right decision.

With the consistent mind like a compass needle that always points towards the north, I hope you enjoy the exciting adventure that awaits your future as a yacht designer.

It is happy and rewarding to live a passionate life having faith in dream and devoting efforts to achieve such dream. It cannot be compared with walking the paved road as others do. If you have a dream to accomplish, do not hesitate to try a new thing and keep on challenging by exerting efforts.