Korea Institute of Design Promotion (KIDP) held an event on Nov. 30 at the K-Art Hall of Seoul Olympic Park to inaugurate the global Korean designer network. In attendance were Sooshin Choi, Provost & Vice President for Academic Affairs and Professor of Design for the College of Creative Studies (CCS) and about 300 other designers working in Korea and abroad. The inauguration of the global Korean designer network is intended to promote the development of the Korean design industry and raise the national brand.
The event also coincided with “Designer’s Night” which is promotes networking and solidarity among the Korean design community. The “Future Design Talks Concert” also took place with four designers speaking under the theme “Future Production & Design” designed to share design strategies on the advent of the 4th Industrial Revolution. The Korea Design Awards ceremony took place to present 27 individuals and organizations in recognition of their contributions to the development of the Korean design industry.
The coveted top honor, Order of Industrial Service Merit, Silver Tower went to President Cho Young-il of Designmall for achieving $1 million export, becoming the first design company to do so.
In a congratulatory speech, Vice Minister Chung Man-ki of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said, “Design, which is soft power of the Korean industry based on emotions, communications capabilities and creativity, is poised to lead an era of the advent of the 4th Industrial Revolution by collaborating with other areas, including digital, engineering and CMF (color, materials, and finish).”
The government will overhaul a regime to support the design industry into a demand -oriented one to proactively cope with these industry changes and expand design infrastructure to brace for the 4th Industrial Revolution, he added.
Over 1,000 Korean designers are assumed to be with such global design leaders as BMW and Google, and their standing and roles tend to be widening and getting more influential. The network is to serve as a pivotal bridge connecting all global Korean design communities as well as Korean and global design markets.
Designers participating in the network are expected to serve as “ambassadors” to help Korean designers and design companies explore overseas markets and provide counseling services on the consumer goods’ entry into foreign markets and globalization of Korean design.
“Despite Korean designers’ strengthened presence abroad in terms of quantity and quality, there is no exact look at famed design manpower working in foreign countries and insufficient policy utilization, and the global Korean designer network will aggressively to promote Korean designers’ overseas entry and plan and operate regular events in Korea and abroad down the road.” KIDP President Jung Young-jin said.
CCS Provost Choi said the caliber of Korean designers on the global stage is outstanding, and the inauguration of the network is hoped to help Korean design spearhead an era of “super connection” and convergence by connecting Korean designers around the world.
‘DK 2016, Highlighting Design Hallyu’; Goes Beyond Asia’
Design Korea 2016 (DK 2016), a design business exhibition highlighting “Design Hallyu” wrapped up a five day run at KINTEX in Goyang, north of Seoul, on Nov. 13. It displayed about 1,500 outstanding design products from 317 Korean and foreign companies.
Under the theme “Design Korea, Beyond Asia” DK 2016 was hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) and organized by Korea Institute of Design Promotion (KIDP). Design Korea, which offers an opportunity for local and foreign products with outstanding design to be displayed, has been held since 2003, and its official name changed from “Design Korea” to “DK” in 2014.
Among 200 people on hand at an opening ceremony were Deputy Minister Doh Kyung-hwan of the Office of Industrial Creativity and Innovation at the MOTIE and KIDP President Jung Young-jin.
DK 2016 had pavilions under five themes - home and living, furniture and interior, clothes and fashion, leisure and health, and stationery and toys — showing off the latest design trends in Korea and abroad.
The exhibition also coincided with export consultation sessions and design events that took place across the nation. The themed pavilions served as spaces to demonstrate how design contributes to better lives under the theme “A Better Life by Design.”
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