Jong Ho Shin found why an operating tunnel was heaving, through numerical back analysis. Taejin Kim took part in the structural design of Lotte World Tower while researching super-tall structures at a university. Here they share us how their research found its way into real structures, and into the hands of the engineers who came after them.
In their own words.
01
Professor · Konkuk University · Korea
"I believe diligence is always rewarded."
I am a meticulous and strategic systems thinker. My career began with public infrastructure in Seoul. I headed facilities for the Han River development from 1989 to 1992. After that I led design for a resource recovery facility until 1995, and then planning and design for Seoul Subway Lines 5, 6 and 7 until 2001. From 2002 to 2004 I was the restoration officer for Cheonggyecheon. I helped plan the waterfall at its source, the management of stormwater outfalls and the night lighting.
I was the first to clarify analytically the hydro-mechanical behaviour caused by tunnel excavation, establishing the behavioural theory of this field. That analysis was also put to work on a tunnel already in operation. As principal investigator for heave countermeasures at the Yulhyeon Tunnel, I identified the cause of the heave through numerical back analysis and established the countermeasures.
Over the past twenty years of research on the hydro-mechanical behaviour of tunnels, I have found great fulfilment in sharing what I learned with younger researchers and growing together with them.
Because the field is complex and highly uncertain, we often ran into problems we had not expected and sticked together to get here. There were long stretches of trial and error, but we also shared the joy of understanding a new phenomenon and finding a solution. The students I researched with have grown into experts who now take part in writing tunnel design codes and specifications.
Looking back, the greatest reward is not only a single research result, but also the knowledge and problem-solving experience we built together has passed to them, and that they now carry part of tunnel engineering in their own fields.
Q. Among the work you did with MIDAS, was there a time that felt most rewarding?
When I took part in verifying GTS, the tunnel analysis program MIDAS developed. I want to send my thanks and praise for how widely it is now used and for becoming the basis for further geotechnical programs. I am also grateful that MIDAS gave me the opportunity to introduce the hydro-mechanical behaviour of tunnels in Korea.
02
CEO · TI Structural Engineers Office · Korea
"In structural design, computer analysis is a very powerful tool.
But a plausible result does not necessarily mean a sound design."
Before anything else, I ask where the loads start and how they travel down to the foundation. Then I look at how the structure actually deforms and resists them. I stay true to the fundamentals, and I am not afraid of new technology. I try to solve complex problems with structures that are simple and rational.
I took part in the structural design of Lotte World Tower, Korea's tallest building, from 2009 to 2017.
I reviewed its gravity and lateral systems and its response to wind and earthquakes. I also looked at its long-term behaviour and the many structural issues that came up during construction.
Over the same years I moved between the university and design practice. I applied results from national R&D projects on super-tall buildings to real structural design and worked to connect research with practice.
These days I share what I have learned about super-tall design, performance-based design and structural analysis more actively than before. I do it through in-house training and university lectures, as well as professional courses and my work with industry societies. I believe a senior engineer should turn experience into knowledge the whole industry can use. It should not stay inside one person or one firm.
Since 2026 I have been a vice president of the Korean Structural Engineers Association. There I work on advancing performance-based and protective design and on improving the systems around them. That includes checking analysis software against Korean design codes, practical training and better technical standards. I am also a vice president of the Korean Society of Steel Construction. In that role I want to connect academia and practice so that research reaches real design and industry.
Making good engineers is not about giving them answers.
It is about helping them build the judgement to find good answers on their own.
Q. Looking back on your time with MIDAS, how do you see it?
When I started in structural design, using an analysis program was not the easy, everyday thing it is now. So I value having watched Korean analysis software grow over the years and change the way our engineers work. As MIDAS and other programs developed, we could model and analyse complex structures faster and more precisely. The range of options and problems a structural engineer can examine has grown a great deal.
Jong Ho Shin’s research lives on in the students who worked through those problems together with him. If diligence is always rewarded, those students are where the reward shows most clearly. Taejin Kim passes on what Lotte World Tower taught as a habit of asking questions. Every lecture and every society meeting is another chance to hand that habit to the next engineer.