Seoul - WDC 2010

SEOUL
World Design Capital 2010

The megalopolis of Seoul (South Korea) was designated World Design Capital® in 2010. The metropolitan government developed an ambitious, unifying programme around urban design, accompanied by numerous initiatives on economic, social and cultural development, based on the design approach.

AMBITITION

Through the theme “Design for All”, Seoul held many events to highlight the growing interest of the public authorities and local community in design and to become a recognised actor in the world design community.

PROJETS EMBLEMATIQUES WDC 2010

These projects included:

DONGDAEMUN DESIGN PLAZA – The Dongdaemun Design Plaza was designed by the architect Zaha Hadid as a symbol of Seoul’s design vision and the cornerstone of WDC 2010. Today, it is still a hotspot of urban development, the centre of fashion in South Korea and a popular tourist destination.

SEOUL DESIGN FAIR – This interactive exhibition brought together many talents from the design world, focusing on revitalisation of the city, sharing and eco-sociability. It also raised public awareness of the importance of design, with cutting-edge poster campaigns.

SEOUL INTERNATIONAL DESIGN WORKSHOP – Bringing together students and designers from 26 countries, this two-week workshop allowed participants to carry out practical experiments and share best practices on the theme of “universal design in an IT environment”. The designs from this workshop were presented at the Seoul Design Fair 2010.

CHILDREN’S CREATIVE CAMPUS – The citizens’ design competition organised during Seoul 2010, World Design Capital through a special summer camp, was held to promote interaction and participation from the local community.

WDC POLICY CONFERENCE 2010

As part of Seoul 2010, World Design Capital, the Metropolis organised an International Conference bringing together decision makers from the business, social and cultural sectors, along with nationally and internationally renowned design experts. The conference allowed Seoul to share the experience it had acquired in these areas during the design year preparation phase, and to discuss with foreign visitors and participants the contribution of design to the urban and economic development of a local area.

WDC NETWORK OF CITIES MEETING 2010

Thirty-two leaders, politicians and senior civil servants from all over the world met in Seoul for the WDC NETWORK OF CITIES MEETING. This conference enabled leaders from several world-ranked cities to demonstrate the impact of design on competitiveness and development in the 21st century. At the meeting, case studies were shared and discussions were held on the ways in which these cities have implemented design policies that impact urban development, economic growth and quality of life.

Participating cities signed the "Seoul Design Declaration" to recognize design as a core competency and an asset to the city, as well as to share the vision of improving citizens’ happiness index and developing the city through design, together with global citizens. The declaration highlighted the following three goals: "Cities will create design for everyone", "Cities will enrich citizens’ lives through design", "Cities will create sustainable design".