Park Jin-hai primarily focuses on K-dramas, entertainment shows and actor interviews. Beyond that, she also pens articles covering the broader arts scene, with a particular emphasis on classical music, dance and various aspects of lifestyle. Since joining The Korea Times in 2013, she has made significant contributions in the realms of hallyu (Korean wave), industry news and international affairs.
Bentley designer stress global tastes
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Lee Sang-yup, Bentley Motors’ head of exterior and advanced design
By Park Jin-hai
By Park Jin-hai
Lee Sang-yup, Bentley Motors’ head of exterior and advanced design, says a designer is like a good chef.
“A great chef, before he cooks, figures out all the ingredients and their characteristics as well as the tastes of the diners,” he said during an interview held Thursday on the sidelines of the British luxury brand’s launch event for the Flying Spur V8 at the Banyan Tree Club and Spa in central Seoul. “A good designer, too, should study the market for every kind of car that he is designing.”
For instance, the Continental GT’s sales are strong across the globe, he says. This means it is necessary to reflect global tastes as well as tradition.
“So its body is lower and wider than a conventional Bentley’s,” he explains. “Bentley’s flagship sedan Mulsanne, however, is stricter on British style.”
Lee, better known as the man who designed the yellow Autobot Bumblebee ― a Chevrolet Camaro ― for the film “Transformers,” assumed his current position in January 2013.
It was a challenge for Lee ― a foreigner in the United Kingdom ― to talk about the British tradition that Bentley takes pride in.
“From the moment that I stepped into the company, every day was a challenge,” he said. But he immersed himself in British culture, even moving into a 150-year-old traditional house.
“We spend every minute coming up with more designs, and my British colleagues say they are more Bentley-like and creative,” he added.
Before joining Bentley, Lee worked at Volkswagen Group’s design center in Santa Monica, Calif., as a senior designer for many affiliated brands including Audi, Porsche and Lamborghini.
The chief designer said that Bentley was not a company that blindly upheld tradition ― instead it seeks to strike a balance between tradition and modernity.
“The company incorporates technical advances into the Bentley tradition,” he said. “That is, craftsmanship is joined with cutting-edge technology, translating tradition into new, modern clothes. The process cannot help but being creative.”
Lee studied sculpture at Hongik University and car design at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif. During his last semester at Hongik, he took part in a Bentley-sponsored program established to create opportunities for students.
“I flew to the United States 21 years ago, with a heart full of passion to learn car design,” he recalled. “I didn’t speak English then. But like a sponge, I drew design after design, siphoning off knowledge from great teachers.”
He said Korean designers were voracious learners, eager to create good designs.
“Ten years ago, Korea was regarded as a country that had no automobile culture, and Korean designers were brushed off,” he said. “Now global carmakers are competing to recruit talented Koreans because they recognize the nation as the home of gifted and hardworking designers.”