From Saudi Construction Site to "Gumiho" VFX

Interview with Dr. Kim Dong-hyeon, pioneer of what might be called "Hallyu 0.0" -- a young man starting as a design engineer at a Saudi construction site who encountered 3D graphics in an Osaka research lab, then led the world first digital cultural heritage restoration and Korea first VFX film production. Q: You decided to study abroad from the Saudi construction site. Kim: "After graduating from Yonsei University Department of Architectural Engineering and joining Mirung Construction (now Dongbu Construction), I was dispatched to the Saudi Al-Jida Naval Base project. I encountered a CAD system at the site for the first time. Seeing blueprints printed from a drum-sized plotter, I had the intuition: this is a revolution changing the design language. So I decided to study abroad." Q: At the Osaka University research lab. Kim: "On the first day, my supervisor was repairing a motorcycle. He said lab life requires leisure activities like motorcycles, yachts, and skiing, and immediately taught me motorcycle riding. He even had me train going up and down stairs -- that experience showed me the freedom of Japanese research culture." Q: On the digital cultural heritage restoration project. Kim: Korea first 3D reconstruction of historical architecture using photogrammetry and 3D modeling -- making inaccessible or destroyed cultural heritage virtually accessible; foundation for subsequent museum digitization and digital twin approaches to heritage preservation. Q: On the Gumiho VFX project. Kim: Korea first major domestic VFX production for a commercial film -- demonstrating that Korean production could match international standards; the successful case that convinced government officials that cultural technology was worth policy investment.