Seoul Design Week opens with record entries for design award

Seoul Design Week commenced on Wednesday at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP), a prominent exhibition center in the heart of Seoul. The event, organized by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Design Foundation, featured an awards ceremony for the prestigious Seoul Design Award 2026. The theme of this year's exhibition, “The Design Recipe,” explored how design addresses social and environmental concerns.

The opening ceremony was attended by approximately 250 individuals, including Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, designers, and industry representatives from both Korea and other nations.

Running until October 25, the Seoul Design Week is in its seventh iteration. The Seoul Design Award, a cornerstone of the event, recognizes designs that effectively tackle everyday social issues and foster sustainable change. This year saw an unprecedented surge in participation, with a record 1,204 projects from 91 countries submitted to the award, roughly sixteen times the number received in the inaugural year.

A panel of 36 distinguished design professionals from around the globe, comprising experts such as Samsung Electronics Chief Design Officer Mauro Porcini and Andrea Cancellato, director of the ADI Design Museum in Milan, evaluated the entries.

During the awards ceremony, the top 10 finalists showcased their innovative projects on stage, providing a platform for their creations to be recognized. The Seoul Design Week continues to be a significant platform for promoting global collaboration and inspiring creative solutions to pressing societal challenges.