Seoul Design Week turns city into sprawling creative showcase

Seoul will transform into a vast design showcase this month, connecting the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) with 150 destinations spread across five districts during the Seoul Design Week. Spanning 12 days from Wednesday to October 25, the festival will focus on DDP while extending to Dongdaemun, Seongsu, Yeonhui, Seochon, and Apgujeong under the theme "The Design Recipe."

At DDP, the DDP Design Fair will unite 79 lifestyle brands in an exhibition organized around consumer tastes instead of product categories. The fair will showcase work by around 100 students from 20 university design teams who have collaborated with companies like Hyundai Motor, Oxfam, Goobne, Korean Red Cross, and Davich Optical.

These projects will demonstrate how ideas from emerging designers can transition from classrooms into tangible products, spaces, brands, and commercial ventures. Simultaneously, the Seoul Design Week Conference will explore how Seoul's urban environment and lifestyle serve as sources of creative inspiration, featuring speakers such as architect and professor Yoo Hyun-jun and representatives from the Seoul city government.