Highlights from a design trip to Seoul
Few cities in the world can claim to be as entrenched in design as Seoul. Since winning the coveted 'World Design Capital 2010' title, the metropolis has earned its design credo through relentless displays of dedication. Design is clearly a way of life (and a mandate) for the city, with Mayor Oh Se-Hoon, and the Seoul Municipal Government, leading the charge. No stone has been left unturned as the city's landmarks, including inner city canals, river banks and the numerous bridges that connect Seoul's northern cultural stronghold with its southern commercial centre, are made over. Despite its 2013 completion date, even Zaha Hadid's vision for the Dongdaemun Design Plaza is starting to take shape.
This mantra of 'Design for All' is also the motto of this year's Seoul Design Fair (17 September to 7 October) - a 21-day exhibition that can be freely accessed by all. Held at its usual home in Jamsil Olympic Stadium, the annual design festival (now in its 3rd year) is not only aimed at designers and industry experts, but also hopes to develop an eye and taste for design amongst the city's inhabitants. The fairground, which features pavilions designed by Alessandro Mendini, Daniel Libeskind and Korea's own Kim Seok-Chul, is divided into areas that include exhibitions of local and international design, and the results of the nationwide Bicycle Design Competition, which was open to both designers and the general public.
Despite the overarching focus on design and architectural modernisation, Seoul has managed to retain a lot of its heritage and charm. During our six-day visit, we spotted numerous instances where national tradition and the city's future exist in a harmony that's distinctly its own.
Ewha Women's University, a gently descending 'campus valley', designed by Dominique Perrault
The much-improved Cheonggyecheon, a 6km-long creek that was once covered with roads and concrete, but is now a popular lunchtime spot in Seoul's city centre
Graphic design/stationery company MMMG's shopfront in Garosugil
Koreans certainly understand the importance of grooming
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Haechi, a mythical horned-lion, has been the symbol of Seoul since 2008
Zaha Hadid's vision for Dongdaemun Design Plaza begins to take shape
The neighbouring Dongdaemun History and Culture Park, which houses a museum containing relics from the DDP site
The culture park also contains a memorial to the site's heritage as a sports stadium, including posters and ticket stubs
A ticket printing system from days gone by
City Keukdong apartments, constructed at a 22 degree angle
Rainbow-painted grates as part of a public art exhibition
Bright and early at the Seoul Design Fair, held at Jamsil Sports Complex
Seoulites get creative with their design maps to beat the heat
Side table and dining table by Byung-Hoon Choi
Books created by Chinese graphic designer Lu Jingren
An elegant back-rest for easy reclining, by Chinese designer, Shao Fan
Colourful cups and bowls by Mi Hyun Jo
'Dye the Blue' ceramics, by Hee-Chang Shin
Sketches and renderings by various designers, showing their interpretations of the wooden side table, a fixture in traditional Korean furniture
A selection of traditional side tables or 'soban'
The mini-exhibition of modern soban, created by Karim Rashid, Masayuki Kurokawa and Jihoon Ha
One of the prototypes submitted to the fair's Bicycle Design Competition, which invited participants to create a vehicle that would suit the needs of the modern commuter
Examples of public bike schemes from towns in South Korea
Bookshelf by Kyo-Hyun Shin, a graduate from the Industrial Design department at Sangmyung University
A three-level suitcase, as imagined by Bo-Hyun Hwang, also from the Industrial Design department at Sangmyung University
An architectural model by a graduate from Seoul Women's University
An architectural model by a graduate from Seoul Women's University
An architectural model by a graduate from Seoul Women's University
Interior design and architecture concept from graduates at Duksung Women's University
Straightforward signage serves weary shoppers well at Lotte department store
Contemporary art takes to the streets of Gahoe-dong
Traditional Korean pharmacy on the edge of Bukchon, Seoul's most elite neighbourhood, filled with traditional houses or 'hanok'
A decorative utility box in Bukchon
A traditional wood and paper window in a hanok
Iron door handle
Traditional packaging of Korean medicine, displayed in the Choonwondang Museum of Korean Medicine
Vintage newspaper adverts for Korean medicine
Vintage medicine manuals
Vintage prescription envelopes from Choonwondang Institute of Korean Medicine, founded in 1847
Architectural model by Doojin Hwang Architects for the current Choonwondang Institute
Finn Juhl exhibition at the Aa Design Museum in Samcheong-dong
The Aa Design Museum's café
A police station sign
Your average road sign in Korea
Korean graffiti
Very large feet outside the West 19th café in Samcheong-dong
The evolution of biscuits
Food for dogs (not dogs as food)
An little snapshot of Korean life
A striking lobby at Kukje Gallery
The 'Oblique Strategies' exhibition, featuring works from MeeNa Park, Donghee Koo and Sasa[44]
Roni Horn's 'Two Pink Tons' hold court at Kukje's Space 2
Hague Yang's first solo exhibition, 'Voice Over Three' at Artsonje Center
A detail from Yang's 'Trustworthies', a collage made from discarded envelopes and bank cards
Louise Bourgeois sculptures outside Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art
Pei-Ru Keh is a former US Editor at Wallpaper*. Born and raised in Singapore, she has been a New Yorker since 2013. Pei-Ru held various titles at Wallpaper* between 2007 and 2023. She reports on design, tech, art, architecture, fashion, beauty and lifestyle happenings in the United States, both in print and digitally. Pei-Ru took a key role in championing diversity and representation within Wallpaper's content pillars, actively seeking out stories that reflect a wide range of perspectives. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two children, and is currently learning how to drive.
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