Vibrant Seoul takes city design pride to heart

By Elise Fu | 2009-11-3 | NEWSPAPER EDITION

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An artist's computer graphic perspective of this year's themed design exhibition in Seoul's Jamsil Olympic Stadium, one of Seoul's major introduction activities to promote the design industry to the public in the lead up to World Design Capital 2010 events.

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SEOUL is a vibrant city full of fashion, gourmet styles and modern trends so it is no wonder that it was chosen to be the World Design Capital 2010.

It has made continuous progress in all aspects of design, whether it be in architecture, clothing, urban design, technology, cuisine or lifestyle.

And it aims to set a good example to other countries by building a city with design as its core spirit, a city with old and new, with history and high tech.

Last month from October 9 to 29, it held the Seoul Design Olympiad 2009, a major international celebration as part of its efforts to promote the design industry to the public in the lead up to the 2010 event.

Seoul has been officially designated for that year as the World Design Capital by the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design.

'I Design'

The October event included conferences on design, themed exhibitions in Seoul's Jamsil Olympic Stadium and on featured streets in the city's downtown area as well as design competitions. It not only attracted a lot of big names in the industry such as Toshiyuki Kita from Japan and Peter Cook from Britain, but also provided a big festival for a mainstream audience of young and old, including families with children.

The most important part of the event was an emphasis on everybody's design concepts of the city. The theme "I Design" referred to and included the individual "I," the "Internet" and "Innovation," presenting Seoul as a city that provides comfortable living and is a creative place in which every citizen is a designer.

"Design makes our city more beautiful. Through our efforts, we want to spread the concept of design to ordinary people, weaving design into our daily life from which everybody can benefit," says Jae-Jin Shim, CEO of Seoul Design Foundation.

"We want to expand citizens' understanding of design by breaking away from the convention that it is only for design experts and artists. Also to help educate people about the power of design in ways that easily relate to their daily lives," he says.

And these are not just words from the foundation's leader.

After officially winning the title of World Design Capital in 2007, Seoul has put a lot of work into living up to the award in aspects of cultural enrichment, promoting quality of life and supporting major projects.

The Seoul government allocated some 118.1 trillion won (US$675 billion) to build four major design industry areas.

It has also influenced other outcomes with a design focus. The garbage mountain projects have put some "dirty and remote areas" on the list of Seoul's most expensive and attractive residential areas; the city gallery project has beautified the city by placing statues along Seoul's main streets and the Dongdaemun Design Plaza and Park project, a comprehensive design facility, will be a new city landmark.

An example of the design influence can be seen around the city's subway stations and green spaces where the symbol of Seoul called Haechi seems to be everywhere. A cute Kylin-like creature, the Haechi has a round face, bright eyes, big nose, eyetooth and a signature smile.

The mythical animal, with a history of 600 years, represents justice and security, hopes and dreams, has been chosen recently as an icon representing Seoul.

From every Haechi work in the city, you can sense Seoul people's ideas of design - there's a grass Haechi, a stone Haechi, a Haechi wearing traditional Korean costume, a colorful Haechi ? so you can really experience Seoul's concept of "I Design."

In the aftermath of the global economic downturn, Seoul is seeking a new development strategy from its "design capital" status, a South Korea through "culturenomics" and "designomics."