Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP): A Hub for Art, Design, and Exhibitions













The Design Lab Showroom Stage is a space where visitors can experience various design exhibitions, events, and interactive activities.























SDIF 2025 Highlight Video
We are pleased to share the highlight video of the 2025 Seoul Design International Forum (SDIF 2025), held on September 19, 2025 (Fri) at the Multipurpose Hall of Seoul City Hall. Under the theme “Attractive City of Seoul: Designing a Better Global Life,” global design experts gathered to share insights and discuss Seoul’s design vision and future. Relive the inspiring moments through this video.[Abstract] L’Oréal: Collaborative Design for Sustainability
1. Introduction to the L’Oréal Group and its global sustainability program, “L’Oréal for the Future.” 2. Case studies of sustainability design shaped by citizen participation A. L’Oréal has implemented an empty-bottle recycling program that collects used cosmetic containers from consumers and transforms them into various upcycled creations. Examples include: (1) Kiehl’s “Circular Resource Concept Store,” (2) the “Scented Tree” upcycling art installation at Seoul Beauty Week, (3) upcycled benches at Shinsegae Gangnam Department Store, and (4) a collaborative project with Korea Railroad Corporation to install upcycled benches in the waiting hall of Seoul Station’s second floor.[Session1] L’Oréal: Collaborative Design for Sustainability
Hello, everyone. My name is Sharon So, and I’m the Director of Corporate Affairs, Engagement, and Sustainability at L’Oréal Korea. First of all, thank you so much for inviting me to the Seoul Design International Forum. As Mr. Uwe Cremering mentioned earlier, I’m neither a designer nor an architect, so when I first received the invitation, I honestly wondered what kind of story I could share with you today. However, through our ongoing conversations and collaboration with the Seoul Metropolitan Government, and by listening to Mayor Oh Se-hoon and Ms. Helle Søholt earlier today, I’ve come to see more clearly the direction that design in Seoul should take moving forward. I believe it is a form of design that harmoniously embraces sustainability, inclusiveness for the vulnerable, and responsiveness to the climate crisis. And in that sense, I now understand a little better why I was invited to be here.
[2023 Seoul International Design Forum] Visited the 'Yes! Kids Zone' Designed by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Experienced Public Design!
Yes! Kids Zone is a space designed to address the growing problems of obesity, depression, and lethargy among adolescents who have limited opportunities for physical activity due to their academic-oriented lifestyle. Yes! Kids Zone is located in Hanti Park and the surrounding school routes, and is located right in front of the Daechi Police Station.
Village for the developmentally disabled
What factors cause family members with children with developmental disabilities to face discomfort in the city and surrounding areas? In order to help spread universal awareness, we must observe and take a deep interest in every sector of society. Taking the case of the family of a 20-year-old who lost vision in one eye due to ankylosing cerebral palsy and has an autistic disorder. Despite the fact that they face many difficulties, their opinions are not passed to the community smoothly, due to their difficulties in communication. Intellectual disability is a blind spot even in the disability-related community when communication is difficult and needs are varied. Children with developmental disabilities spend their childhood in the community and school age in institutions or schools, but after reaching adulthood, they have nowhere to go. Most of them stay at home or move to care facilities. Recently, as the level of needs of people with developmental disabilities increases, the proportion of people who want to stay together in the community is increasing. However, the reality is that there is no place to go for education and no facilities.
[2023 Seoul International Design Forum] Space for Seniors' Health: 100-Year Courtyard
Hello everyone! I was selected as a Seoul Design International Forum supporter, and I recently visited the "100-Year Courtyard" located at the Songpa Senior Comprehensive Welfare Center, one of the many places in Seoul that use design. As you know, outdoor activities have been restricted for a while due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This can be dangerous as it can have a serious impact on the health of the elderly. In particular, dementia is a serious health issue that is emerging in the elderly population these days, and the risk of dementia is higher if you are less active outdoors. In response, the Seoul Metropolitan Government has created a space design called "100-Year Courtyard" to help adults grow their physical, emotional, and social health.
We Solve Problems Around Us on Our Own! (2)
When a case of a child abuse is reported, the abused child is separated from parents, needs to wait at a police precinct or police station to undergo an investigation and has to live in a child protection agency. During this process, the child feels uneasy and stressed by unfamiliar spaces and people. In addition, the child may feel the guilt of causing this situation by his or her own fault. “Hoya Toto” was devised as a solution to resolve the anxiety of abused children in the unfamiliar environment by forming a bond with police officers.Mini studios for meditation at the center of busy city; Calm City & BEtime in New York
Everyone wants to live well, mentally, and emotionally, and build and maintain healthy relationships with families and other people in life. Also, people value intangible achievements in life and strive to live a better life each one desires. Unlike in the past when people wanted to have more material wealth, indicators for “living well” have changed, so people in modern society started to recognize the importance of balancing material wealth and emotional wealth, which increases attention on how to live well and plan well for the end of life. In addition, the world’s population is aging quickly and causes various social problems including a change in the demographic structure, family breakdown, increase in single-person household, etc. and new controversies arise, which is shedding a light on not only living well but also dying well, a concept around better quality of death at the final moments of life. In Korea, the concept of dying-well or well-dying was discussed as part of living well which was one of 30 major programs proposed for the study to establish a Basic Plan of Social Problem-Solving Design of Seoul Metropolitan City (2021-2023). The proposal established a master plan of key projects about developing a probe-kit that would facilitate reflection on past moments in life and digital content and improving citizens' mental health, and Seoul City is working with various institutions to promote “dying well” in the society to help citizens prepare for a meaningful end of life.Gray Construction Sites, Out! 'Attractive Fences' That Turn Seoul into an Open-Air Gallery
Hello! This is Nayoung Kwak, supporter of the 2025 Seoul Design International Forum! Have you ever walked past a construction site in Seoul and suddenly been drawn in by a beautifully designed barricade? The surprising star behind this transformation of dull and drab construction sites is Seoul’s very own “Attractive Fences”! Today, let’s explore what these Attractive Fences are, how they bring positive change to urban life, and where you can find these hidden design gems across the city.
Absolute Value of Design and Innovation – Thinking Beyond Competitiveness
Previous design innovation aimed at gaining a competitive edge, but today’s design innovation in products, services, or policies raises the necessity of absolute values. In order to establish “good brands,” companies and institutions should bear in mind that unlike the past, it is hard to build trust when there is no originality as distribution channels of content diversify, resulting in intensifying competition. Customers can now compare and analyze various brands thanks to increasing data and diversified channels conveying such information. In other words, creating innovative momentum or developing brands using previous method is no longer effective. As customers today access numerous contents, unforgettable consumer experiences can only be made through a new dimension of challenges; hence, the need for absolute innovation. Companies mainly consider “the targets to connect their products, services, and policies with” for absolute innovation. Still, the most significant thing is to understand the core value of services, products, and policies which have strong chemistry with customers based on understanding the momentum of customers.Strategy to expand cognitive health design
Cognitive health design project, which is one of Seoul’s representative design policies to resolve social issues, began in 2014 to apply the design that reflects the physical, emotional and social characteristics centered on residential environment of senior citizens to respond to aging society and sudden growth in the elderly with dementia. The concept of cognitive health design that may rather be unfamiliar to the general people is connected to a series of processes that allow us to see objects, acquire information and make judgement in our daily lives. There are cases where people face unexpected accidents or where functional abilities decline due to aging during the lifetime of humans, and there are also situations that are difficult to be resolved in the medical field. Seoul’s cognitive health design project that can act as a guide in such circumstances is a project that enhances the maintenance and enhancement of cognitive functions such as declined memory, concentration and orientation capability of senior citizens through contents involving physical activities, stimulation of the five senses and social exchange, for the first time in Korea.[Session 1] City, Design and AI
[Sang Lee] Today's presentation topic is 'Urban Design and Artificial Intelligence'. Since it's not too difficult a topic, I hope you can listen comfortably. I am currently a Creative Director at TikTok, working on AI system implementation. Before that, I was a Design Director at Google, and prior to that, I was the head of C+ AI Plon Studio at Microsoft. Before that, I worked at LYIN Digital. This year, I wrote a book called 'AI Works, Humans Grow' which fortunately became a bestseller. Thank you.