Design Korea explores trends and future of design

Exhibits include breathing system for firefighters, LED desk lamp


The ninth annual Design Korea event is under way at the COEX exhibition center in southern Seoul with the theme “Smart Design,” until Sunday.

The event, hosted by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy and organized by the Korea Institute of Design Promotion, comprises exhibitions and three days of forums where Korean and foreign experts will provide an insight into the present and the future of design, as well as into the business side of design.

The exhibitions and the forums are divided according to three themes ― Design Trends, Design Creative and Design Business.

The Design Trend exhibition hall provides visitors with information about the current and future trends in design.

The hall’s theme will be carried on to the forum on Friday. Visitors will get the chance to hear experts including the dean of Seoul National University’s College of Fine Arts Lee Soon-jong and Nicoline Van Enter, the chief of the Dutch trend forecasting firm Ytrends, talk about trends and changes in the world of design. 

In addition, the Design Trend hall includes a separate zone for displaying products whose designs have received recognition in Australia, China, Germany, Korea and the United States.

Exhibits include the CAS Air System, a breathing system for firefighters, from Germany, an LED desk lamp produced by Samsung LED and a portable bed that can be folded into a backpack from Australia.

The Design Creative hall, which will be the theme of the forum on Saturday, displays products that received the Good Design Award, as well as award winning entries from various local design exhibitions.

Saturday’s forum will open with a session by professor Roger Ball of Hong Kong Polytechnic University where he will talk about the creativity of designers. Ball’s session will be followed by three more presented by experts from Korea’s academia and design industry.

The Design Business hall will include areas for showcasing products from 43 design companies from Korea and abroad and a zone for the works of designers selected to take part in the Ministry of Knowledge Economy’s project for supporting next-generation designers.

The hall will also include the indie-designer market zone where 50 designers who have set up their own businesses will display and market their creations.

The final day’s forum will present the visitors with insights from those in the design industry. The speakers will range from those who are considered the leaders of the next generation of designers and those who are heading small but influential design companies to representatives of some of the country’s leading design companies. The final session on Sunday will also provide award winning designers with an opportunity to tell the visitors about their working process.

By Choi He-suk  (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)