I saw you, Mr. Tändler on a television show before
And the broadcast showed where you lived
You are a cat and plant butler
That’s right
(Q. Life as a cat and plant butler) You have two cats
and you also take care of plants, it must be a lot of work
How is it?
Growing plants is one of my hobbies, so rather than it being a chore
It’s a way of relieving stress for me
I had a cat when I was young
Since I always had a cat I've always liked them
And I didn’t really decide to get a cat
I just happened to take care of one
You know what they say
that the cat chooses you instead
(I appoint you as my can opener. Be my hooman!)
The reason I have a cat now is because
when I went to the garage of the house where I had lived before to get my stuff,
I saw an injured cat
It was somebody’s cat, but
I took her in and treated her, but I couldn’t find the owner
So I started to raise one, and then I adopted another one
How did you name the two cats?
I have two cats
The first cat is Angdu, and the second cat is named Noel
They have different personalities, don’t they?
Very different
Angdu is a Korean Shorthair,
and I raised her from a kitten after she lost his mom
so Angdu is a scaredy-cat
When a stranger comes, Angdu runs away
Noel is an Abyssinian
Abyssinians are known for their fearlessness
They’re friendly, and come to greet people out of curiosity
They are bold
Quite a personality
Nowadays, among young Koreans
MBTI tests are very popular
You’ve tested your MBTI, right?
(Q. What is Daniel Tändler’s MBTI type?)
Well, it’s a thing among young people
The Millennials and Gen-Zs do MBTI Tests a lot
I was like, "What is this?" and took the test
and I got INFP
My MBTI type is ENTJ
But I never seem to memorize other types
So, can you explain what personality INFP is?
INFPs are, as I know of
INFP Personality Type 1 - Introverted
I’m an introvert, but I’m not a timid person
So I didn’t know at first
INFPs need our own time after spending time with people
INFP Personality Type 2 - Clear values
We have strong beliefs and creeds
Yes, for example
As an architect, let me explain:
I need to get a permit, but there’s a problem
In the past, even if it was illegal
I'm sure there were some who would give "envelopes" (bribery) or something, right?
Envelope
It happens much less now
I could never go beyond my values like that
INFP Personality Type 3 – Consideration for others
We know how to read other people’s feelings
We try not to hurt other people’s feelings
But if someone else does that to me
I get hurt
That’s my personality
And I saw another one
INFP Personality Type 4 - Difficult to be satisfied in working as an employee
Oh, it’s hard to be satisfied as an employee
INFPs dream of a righteous world and hopes for inner satisfaction
I think I’m satisfied with my job in that part
So, you're saying that
the traits of INFPs and you’re personality fit well?
I think it’s similar to what I saw
You met me through Facebook
We’re friends on Facebook
I saw your post on Facebook about generational division
You classified the generation by year and age
(Q. What generation does Daniel Tändler think he belongs to?)
Originally, In the past
I thought I was a Millennial
but one of my close friend
said that I'm Generation X
Not the Millennial
but the previous Generation X
(The last group from the Generation X)
But I've seen it somewhere before
A generation called Micro Generation
It's a generation that's in between the late X generation
to the early Millennial generation
The characteristic is that Gen X had no electronic devices until they became an adult
While Millennials are a completely digital generation
But the middle generation is called the Xennial generation
from the late 70s to the early 80s
I heard it belongs to about 5 years (Ex : 1978 ~ 1982)
When I was young, it was analog
As we grew up, we had to adapt to the digitalized world
So we know both (analog and digital)
That’s how they put it
I’m actually a Xennial based on my age
I feel that when it comes to communicating
it feels more easier with the Millennials in Korea
I think Germany tends to change faster socially
so they're becoming more open-minded compared to Korea
You mentioned about the Millennials and Gen Z
(Q. Did you experience any generation gap with the Millennials and Gen Z?)
Of course, there is a generation gap, but
in general, socially speaking,
my generation and the generation before me
talk a lot about the Millennials and Gen Z
I mean, disparaging words
"They quit when you make them work a bit ovetime"
or "They are too assertive"
"They do not work hard enough"
But I disagree
I mainly meet students from the Millennials and Gen Zs
I teach at a university,
and the university I teach in is a traditional culture university
So the students who attend there are very thoughtful
It may be a personal experience, but they have their own goals
And they work hard for that goal
They want to know the reasons
"Why did they tell us to do this in this way?"
They do not want to do everything as they are told
I think that’s a rational trait
And between my coworkers
we work in a good atmosphere, so
I’m very supportive of the Millennials and the Gen Zs
And those guys(?) will make Korea a better place
(Being supportive) ‘Those guys’, the word feels a bit negative, doesn’t it?
I believe that the Millennials and Gen Zs will make Korea a better place
It seems you have high hopes for the Millennials and the Gen Zs
Now, we'll go in a little deeper
with Hanok
Chapter 04
The ultimate reason for coming to Korea
you told me, was because of your interest in Hanok
(Q. How would you define Hanok in one word?)
I think Hanok is our home
It is a piece of architecture that connects our cultural history and identity
(Q. Do you have a favorite architectural Hanok style?)
When I first started to like Hanok,
I didn’t know much about architecture
But when I got to know about Hanok, I started to ask myself
"Why do I like Hanok so much?"
"What does it mean to be Korean?"
Especially since I’m multiracial and grew up in Germany
I had a lot of thoughts about being half Korean
and what that means
But there was something I felt when I visited a hanok
Maybe because Hanok is an architecture with hundreds or even thousands of history
and wisdom for building
So sometimes when my maternal grandmother
comes to my dream,
she always in a Hanok wearing a Hanbok(Korean traditional costume)
My dream isn’t always like that but
it happens sometimes when I dream about my grandmother
In your subconsciousness, the image of your grandmother is
engraved a lot, it seems
I really like the environmental-friendly resources in Hanok such as woods,
or Hanji(Korean traditional paper)
I think it’s a very natural source
I also love the spaces in Hanok
such as Madang, or Daechungmaru
I’m fond of the environmental friendly vibes from Hanok
I guess you love the eco-friendly atmosphere
(Q. What’s the most favorite Hanok you’ve ever built?)
The Hanok that is really special to me is
in Eunpyeong Hanok Village
It was built in a good relationship between the owner,
so I wasn’t nagged until the last process of building
and I’ve been awarded thanks to it
Also, the owner loved the result!
What award was it?
I got the from ‘Examlapry Hanok in Seoul’ in 2021
Also, the first Hanok I’ve designed
I liked it because the reason why the client requested to our office was interesting
What was the reason?
The house is called in Hanok Village
I had a coworker whose name is Choi Jihae,
we opened a business
we started to fix everything in our office,
and we had to find some work
We were short on money and needed work
Then we got that offer
It was like
We didn’t even have phones at that time in our office,
so we got it by an email,
and it said ‘I cannot find your phone number, so please get back to me as soon as possible’
We asked how they found us,
and it was a family member of the client, their father
learned English by Skyping
an aged woman from the US
During the lesson, he told her that he is going to build a Hanok
And as the topic came up, the lady asked
what Hanok is
so he answered like it’s traditional type of construction
Then she got curious and searched for Hanok on the internet
At that time, there was one article written about Hanok in English
after seeing it, she told them about it
She was an American lady, and she said, "There is a young architect, you should meet him"
Talk about a stroke of luck
that she saw the article
Because at first,
you have to have a track record to get a job
So people say that it’s hard to get started as an architect
and that’s true
So we were really lucky that the job was offered to us
When we look at the Hanok you mentioned, it is really fancy
If more Hanoks are built in downtown Seoul
I think Seoul will be much more beautiful
(Q. How likely is it that Hanoks will become more popular in cities?)
Well, what can I say?
I don’t think Hanok will be popularized easily
That is the reality
You can’t tear down all the apartments and build the Hanoks
The population density is also an issue and
I don’t know what will happen if the population drops later on, but
they would still have their own place
that is my opinion
And Seoul is also trying to have Hanok complexes
created
Yes, in my knowledge, they have a plan to have them created
So there will always be a place for Hanok, even if it’s not popularized in the future
Then let’s continue
Chapter 05
You’ve been living in Korea for a long time
Q. Is there a moment when you feel like you are Korean?
Of course, but as you know
even if I have lived in Germany, I am half Korean anyway
so when I was in Germany,
that was always important to me
Sometimes my friends will call me by the nickname
‘Little Korean kid’
In Germany?
Being Korean have always been part of my identity
And when other foreigners in Korea
Express their dissatisfaction with Korea,
In those circumstances, I feel a little more
strong about it
So you’re very willing to clarify?
(No, I mean if you have so many complaints...!!)
You don’t say it but you just think about it
I would mention something like maybe they should think about why that could be it
When I hear what you're saying
I feel like you’ve adapted well to Korea
and I think it's because you get along well with others
And it seems like you have received a lot of help from many people
You seem to have a lot of ‘inbok’
Do you know the meaning of ‘inbok’
Sure
(Q. Who would you be most grateful for while living in Korea?)
It’s hard to choose because there are so many
Of course, I’m grateful for my mother, maternal grandmother,
and to all of mother’s family
They were a great support
I’m most grateful to my mother’s side of my family
Do you have a lot of relatives living in Korea?
Yes, I have a lot
There were a lot of people who have helped me in Korea
And the person I mentioned earlier
Jang Myeong-Hui , director of the Hanok Cultural Center
The one who replied to the email earlier?
Right, director Jang Myeong-Hui helped me a lot
I could never forget it
And director Cho Jung-gu who gave me a job
I'm not sure if you saw it on TV, but
I recently built a house
And there's CEO Jung Seung Ho
whom I worked with since I came to Korea
And without his great help
I couldn’t have built houses
And there are my colleagues, too
I met good people and became close to them
I wouldn’t have been able to endure this life without them around
And I’m still working with one of them
It is too hard to pick one person
Have you ever seen the Miss Korea Program?
When you become the winner of Miss Korea Jin
You have to give an award speech about the people you are grateful for
And you sounded just like them
It seems like you have met a lot of good people
You’ve lived in Korea for over 10 years
In the meantime, the number of immigrants who came to Korea increased a lot
(Q. What aspects of Korean society should be improved as the number of immigrants increases?)
I think, first, the society
need to embrace the diversity more
You used the expression "homogeneous nation"
As the number of foreigners increases in Korea
It is natural that Koreans feel hostile to it
There are multiple races
and we need to end racism
In Korea, I experienced racism in a different way
I got special treatment
Since I was perceived as a Westerner
People were nicer to me
You were given preferential treatment?
Yes, I was
Seeing other people not getting treated like that
I learned the opposite
Although I feel grateful
I don’t think it’s right and
All minorities, disabled people and foreigners
There are many minorities, like the LGBTQ community
In any society, the way they deal with the weak and minorities
I think that shows the level of the country
What if we try to understand and be a little bit more considerate towards minorities?
This is what I personally hope for in Korean society
You have pointed out a very important point
Let me ask you one last question
I asked a lot of questions today
(Q. What do you really want to achieve while living in Korea in the future?)
Actually, I personally
don’t have much desire to become a celebrity
I want to contribute to a healthy architectural culture that does not lose sight of Hanok and traditional cultural architecture
And I think it would be good to have a positive influence on society
Having a positive influence on Korean architectural culture
Even socially
Make people’s perception positive
In my view, in a positive direction
I hope I can help changing it
Thank you for sharing
We had a long conversation today
And what are your thoughts?
It was fun. There were also interesting topics
so thank you for the interesting conversation
You didn’t notice the time, did you?
Thank you
For our viewers, what do you guys think of our conversation with Daniel Tändler today?
Please feel free to leave your comments on the conversation with Daniel Tändler!
I will read the comments carefully and be sure to leave a reply!
We will sincerely support the future moves of Mr. Daniel Tändler who truly loves Korea
This was Lawyer Hwang
I would appreciate it if you could wait
with anticipation and excitement on who I will meet next time
See you next time
Bye~!