Design Miami's Seoul fair draws 12,000 visitors, flurry of sales
The showroom of Design Miami.Seoul 2026 at Dongdaemun Design Plaza / Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government
Design Miami.Seoul 2026, the premier global fair for museum-grade furniture and decorative art, wrapped its seven-day run at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) after drawing nearly 12,000 visitors and driving a flurry of high-value transactions.
Running from Aug. 31 to Sept. 6, the design spectacle recorded more than 50 major sales, with multiple international galleries selling out their entire booth inventories, according to organizers.
Seoul Design Foundation and Design Miami, the global collectible design platform, hosted the evented.
It marked the fair's second year in Seoul following last year's debut as "Design Miami.In Situ Seoul," the platform's first event in Asia.
This year's edition, themed "Resonance: Design in Dialogue," expanded to include a gallery program, an "In Situ" program spotlighting Asian designers, a partner brand program and a design talks series, bringing together six international galleries, nine partner brands including Samsung Electronics and sofa maker Alloso, along with roughly 230 works by more than 100 designers.
Of the 92 works shown through the gallery program, about 35 sold, along with roughly 15 pieces from the In Situ program. Italy's Alex Turco Gallery, showing in Seoul for the first time, sold two tables and a mirror and said it hopes to return next year, while Korea's In Gallery sold multiple tables, chairs and lighting pieces. Belgium's Stack sold out its lineup and is now pursuing a retail presence in Korea.
A design talks program on Sept. 3 brought together 13 creative leaders, including Design Miami Chairman Jesse Lee, Design Miami CEO Jen Roberts, Samsung Electronics Chief Design Officer Mauro Porcini and designers Duyi Han and Yuki Nara, alongside Korean designers Lee Suk-woo, Kwon Jung-mo and Lee Ki-yong of be formative, to discuss the collectible design market and technology's role in design's future.
"Design Miami Seoul 2026 demonstrated that Seoul is growing into an Asian collectible design hub where world-class galleries, designers, collectors, and brands gather," said Cha Kang-hee, CEO of the Seoul Design Foundation. "We will continue hosting Design Miami Seoul next year so that DDP can establish itself as a platform connecting the global design market with Korean and Asian designers."
Roberts said the fair's second Seoul edition built on last year's momentum, with VIP preview attendance up about 20 percent and strong sales across its programs, adding that Design Miami will continue expanding its community through the partnership as part of a global circuit that includes Paris and Miami Beach.
The fair is set to return to Seoul next year, with organizers pointing to potential synergy with Frieze Seoul, also held at DDP.
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.