A Critical Analysis on the Architectural Education in Korea from the view of International Accrediting Criteria

Under the WTO system, global standardization of professionalism in architecture practice calls for transformation of curriculum in architectural education in Korea. This paper compares the curriculum standards of international accrediting authorities such as NAAB and RIBA based on UIA accord which defines fundamental knowledge and abilities of an architect. As a result this paper extracts 51 achievement oriented criteria of architectural education in Korea. It can be categorized as communication, design, cultural context(history and theory, human behavior and social aspects), technical systems(structural systems, environmental control systems, construction material and assemblies) and practice(project process, project economics and business management, laws and regulations). Based on this recommended Korean curriculum standards, current curriculum is analyzed focusing on the 5 architectural programs in Seoul. Through this analysis, it became clear that some area - social and economic aspects in architecture, sustainability in architecture, understanding and selection of construction material, assemblies and environmental control system, recycling of existing building, professional liability, professional rules of conduct, project economics and project management - need to be covered and emphasized to meet the international standards in professional education in architecture. The result in this paper will be used as a basic data in the process of finding the direction of restructuring curriculum for professional architectural education in Korea.