Seoul’s Historic Walks in Sketches

Janghee Lee majored in urban planning and studied illustration. He contributes illustrations and columns for several local newspapers and magazines. His books in Korean include Tour of New York: Sketching the Landscape, America: Meeting a Thousand Freedoms, and Tree Tales. After living in Seoul for decades, Lee decided to tour the city with a sketchpad in hopes to “understand the city better.” He has wandered the city’s maze of streets and alleyways, capturing in his sketchpad the stories and scenes discovered within. By collecting decades of sketches and commentary, his book represents, in a way, a life’s work. He says, “It seems I’ve been writing this since the time I was born.” Lee organizes sketch tours with drawing aficionados, and he continues to use his drawings to preserve landscapes that are on the verge of disappearing.