Meet Chohyun Kim | Interior Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Chohyun Kim and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Chohyun, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
I lived in Korea for 23 years, and then I came to the United States to study interior design. It was a wonderful opportunity for me, but at the same time, it was a challenging endeavor with risks. Venturing out of my comfort zone and living in a place I had never been before turned out to be tougher than I thought. The first year in the US wasn’t easy; I struggled to adapt, missed my family a lot, and experienced binge eating due to anxiety and stress. The book I was reading at that time, Dale Carnegie’s “How to Stop Worrying and Start Living,” was a great help to me. One of Carnegie’s quotes, “If you have a lemon, make a lemonade,” is still my favorite. The book taught me that to attain the best, one must go through very difficult processes. It also emphasized the importance of recognizing advantages in given situations and turning losses into gains. I gained a lot of courage from these teachings and felt like I could overcome anything. Through my life in the US, I not only grew in the field of interior design but also experienced significant personal growth and learned many things. If anyone finds themselves in a situation with such risks, I believe there will be a lot to learn even if they fail. I want to inspire courage in someone facing such circumstances.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I want to describe myself as a diligent interior designer. While there may be differing opinions, I believe that for artists, innate talent plays a significant role and often determines their success. However, I think it’s a bit different in interior design. Through effort and dedication, one can make significant progress, and this effort allows them to apply the designs that come to mind into reality. In fact, before studying interior design, I intended to pursue a different field, so when I initially switched my major to interior design, I had many fears. However, starting late meant I had to put in much more effort than others. For instance, I spent a lot of time reading interior design magazines and image books to enhance my design sense. Additionally, mastering architectural and interior design software such as CAD, Revit, and Rhino is crucial for interior designers, so I dedicated time to learning and practicing them whenever possible.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
There are so many places in Atlanta that I would want to take my friends, but if I had to choose just one, I would take them to the BeltLine on a nice day. Walking along the BeltLine offers a wide variety of sights and delicious experiences. You can see people exercising, walking, performing, skateboarding, and more, giving you a close look at how people in Atlanta live. Along the BeltLine, you can also visit Ponce City Market, enjoy delicious food in Inman Park, and take a break at a brewery with a view of the Atlanta cityscape when you need to recharge.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I graduated from SCAD with a degree in Interior Design. The professors at SCAD were instrumental in shaping me into the interior designer I am today. They went above and beyond to assist and mentor students outside of class, and thanks to their efforts, I learned a great deal. Furthermore, they instilled in me the desire to become a professor who can teach interior design to others in the distant future. Additionally, my friends who attended SCAD with me motivated me to work harder, supported me when things got tough, and became a source of strength when I felt like giving up. I am grateful to all my friends and professors at SCAD.

LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/chohyun-kim-0705bb150