Seoul Design Week turns city into sprawling creative showcase
The exterior of Dongdaemun Design Plaza featuring a public art sculpture in Seoul / Yonhap
Seoul will turn itself into a sprawling design showcase this month, linking Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) with 150 design destinations across five districts during Seoul Design Week.
The 12-day festival, running from Wednesday through Oct. 25, will center on DDP while extending into Dongdaemun, Seongsu, Yeonhui, Seochon and Apgujeong under this year’s theme, “The Design Recipe.”
At DDP, the DDP Design Fair will bring together 79 lifestyle brands in an exhibition organized around consumer tastes rather than product categories. The fair will also feature work by about 100 students from 20 university design teams who collaborated with companies including Hyundai Motor, Oxfam, Goobne, Korean Red Cross and Davich Optical.
The projects will show how ideas developed by emerging designers can move beyond classrooms into products, spaces, brands and commercial projects.
Meanwhile, the Seoul Design Week Conference will examine how Seoul’s urban landscape and lifestyle have become sources of creative inspiration, with speakers including architect and professor Yoo Hyun-jun and Seoul city branding adviser Lee Ji-hyun.
International speakers will include Maria Porro, president of Salone del Mobile Milano, and Mauro Porcini, chief design officer of Samsung Electronics, who will discuss global design trends and perspectives on K-design.
Exhibitions will explore subjects ranging from design studios and Italian industrial design to food design and Seoul’s design industry, while an outdoor design market will feature lifestyle goods, vintage items, crafts, fashion, jewelry and food and beverage products.
Outside DDP, Seoul Design Road will connect 150 design spots through five districts, giving visitors routes through studios, cultural venues, brands and lifestyle spaces.
Seoul Design Foundation said this year’s festival will connect creative sites across Seoul and show how designers’ ideas can grow into industries while expanding Seoul brands and K-design internationally.
"Design is a force that reads people’s tastes and lifestyles to create new markets and industries," said Cha Kang-hee, CEO of the Seoul Design Foundation. "This year’s Seoul Design Week will connect creative spaces across Seoul, demonstrating how designers’ ideas can grow into thriving industries and highlighting the potential for Seoul's brand and K-design to expand globally."
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.