From left, Taesun Park and Jong Hoon Park

Q. Hi, Roommate Campers! Could you introduce the roommate sitting next to you instead of yourself?

Jong Hoon Taesun-hyung is, first of all, really on top of things. We first met on a student exchange program in the Czech Republic back in college. Before he even arrived, he'd already looked into scholarship programs and applied, something I had no idea about. I also know he was thorough about checking youth housing support programs when he was looking for his current place. He's just got strong life skills.

That said, he's a bit dramatic about things too. (laughs) He's particular about his milk having at least a certain fat percentage, particular about his coffee being Ethiopian beans. He cares a lot about things that might look small to other people. So I'd describe him as on top of things, but also kind of a lot.

Taesun He's normally pretty playful, loves having fun, but he also reads situations fast. That makes him good at looking out for people around him. He's got good instincts.

Honestly, when we first met as roommates during the exchange program, I thought Jong Hoon was incredibly lazy. (laughs) He'd just lie in bed all day, not doing anything. But it turned out once he actually got going on something, he was sharp. Strong drive, strong will. We just click.

He's got this magnetism that draws people in, so he's always got people around him. And despite how he looks (?), he's actually really polite. That's the kind of person he is.

He's the first friend who ever made me rethink my assumptions about first impressions.

©Jong Hoon Park & Taesun Park

Q. You two clearly have that bickering chemistry. Do you remember the day you first met?

Jong Hoon Yeah, like I mentioned, we first met in the exchange dorm. The first thing I gave him was probably earplugs. I snore a bit, so out of guilt I remember handing over earplugs and a bottle of whiskey as a sort of apology gift.

We said hi in the room, and then he just left to go work out. I thought he was kind of cold at first. That night, we actually opened up to each other over beers at a pub.

His hairstyle was also pretty unusual, turns out he'd gotten it cut at a Czech salon. We got close making fun of his hair. Strong first impression, let's just say. (laughs)

©Jong Hoon Park & Taesun Park

Taesun Honestly, before we even got assigned as roommates, I'd already seen a photo of him. He looked like the kind of guy who'd be a bit much (?). And the moment he arrived, before we'd even properly said hi, he handed me earplugs and said something like, "I actually snore, hope that's okay." Not gonna lie, the first impression wasn't great. (laughs)

I figured he'd just be loud and goofy, but the more we talked, the more I realized he's actually thoughtful and serious underneath it all. He's the first friend who ever made me rethink my assumptions about first impressions. We're close now!

Q. What kind of place were each of you living in before coming to Mangrove Dongdaemun?

Jong Hoon I currently live in Ilsan, Gyeonggi-do, with my parents and our dog. It's apparently cultured enough that BTS played a concert there this past April. (laughs) There's also good green space, like the lake park.

Taesun I currently live alone in a 5-pyeong (about 16㎡) studio in Suwon. I've been on my own for about four years now. It's slowly filled up with my own taste, piece by piece, so it's the space I feel most comfortable in. Buying furniture and little things to decorate it made me grow really attached to it. Friends come over a lot too, so it kind of feels like our hideout.

I think how you experience home really depends on the situation.
Every space carries its own context, and memories build up inside it. Mangrove feels more varied and finely divided in that sense.

Q. Was there a space you especially liked during the camp?

Jong Hoon The kitchen was the space I used the most while staying here. It made the biggest impression on me. I've lived alone before too, and cooking there is nothing like cooking in a shared kitchen like this. One day I happened to run into a foreign traveler in the kitchen, we got talking, asked each other what we were cooking, and ended up following each other on Instagram.

I also ended up swapping ingredients, like onions or tangerines, with the roommate campers next door, which got us talking too. It went beyond just a place to make a meal, I felt a real sense of community there.

Taesun Same for me, the kitchen. My studio only has one burner. Whenever I made pasta, I'd boil the noodles, pull the pot off, throw a pan on the same burner to cook everything else, it was a bit chaotic. Here, the kitchen has six burners!

Not that I get to use all of them myself, but it definitely gives you more room to cook without rushing. It's also a natural place to say hi to neighboring roommate campers, gather, or just relax. One day I even invited some other friends over and we cooked together.

When I lived alone, my studio was about the size of what 'home' meant to me. At Mangrove, the whole building feels like home.

Jong Hoon Can I add one more thing? Honestly, since it's a shared kitchen, I was a little worried other people might not keep it clean. I actually had some friction over exactly that with friends during the exchange program.

But during my whole stay here, I never once felt like the kitchen was a mess. People seem to clean up after themselves pretty quickly, and there also seem to be dedicated staff keeping things in order. The trash gets emptied often too, it really felt well managed.

Mangrove Dongdaemun, 5F Kitchen

Q. You two already lived together as roommates back in the Czech Republic. How does living at Mangrove Dongdaemun now compare to that?

Taesun The biggest difference is that we were both students back then, and now we're both working. During the exchange program, we had plenty of time on weekdays to grab lunch together, go out somewhere, just hang out. Now that we're both working, we have to squeeze in cooking together in the evenings or really make the most of weekends. Still, we manage to find time to hit a bakery or a café together. Coming here has honestly made weekends feel more precious.

Jong Hoon I think Taesun-hyung covered the biggest difference. Another thing is, during the exchange program we mostly spent time together in our room, but at Mangrove there are so many shared spaces that our daily radius has gotten a lot bigger. There's not just the room where we sleep, there's a library downstairs, a community room for meetings, a work station, a flex room to work out in, even a cinema room. We've been trying out all kinds of it.

Mangrove Dongdaemun, B2F Flex Room

Q. Last question. What does home mean to each of you, and what kind of place is Mangrove?

Taesun To me, home is the place where I can step away from worrying what anyone else thinks and just be fully myself. I want it to be somewhere filled with affection, somewhere I can recover and recharge.

At the same time, it's a space for all kinds of activity. Spending time at home alone matters to me, but so does how I experience home depending on the situation, like when friends come over. Every space carries its own context, and memories build up inside it. Mangrove feels more varied and finely divided in that sense.

In my room, I get time to myself, and in shared spaces like the kitchen or the first-floor café lounge, I get time with other people. When I lived alone, my studio was about the size of what "home" meant to me. At Mangrove, the whole building feels like home.

Jong Hoon For me, home is basically a Dubai chocolate cookie. Something you want but can never actually get your hands on. (laughs) And because the rest you get at home is just as sweet. A bit differently from Taesun-hyung, for me home matters more as a place to rest.

My family home is in Ilsan and my office is in Yeouido, so my commute used to be brutal. Honestly, ever since moving to Mangrove Dongdaemun, what used to take an hour and a half now takes thirty minutes. All that saved time turned straight into more time to rest. So now, when I want to rest alone, I go to my room, and when I want to rest with company, I head to a shared space. I think having rest spaces split like that might be Mangrove's biggest advantage.

©Jong Hoon Park & Taesun Park