Seoul Design Olympiad 2009

Design seems to be a passion of Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon. At the very least, he’s put an emphasis on improving the city’s aesthetics, from restricting the unsightly signage that clutters up the sides of many buildings to commissioning a top architect like Zaha Hadid to create a 400-billion won Dongdaemun Design Park and Plaza.

The latter was to coincide with Seoul being named the 2010 World Design Capital, but as such huge projects tend to go, the 83,000-cubic meter plaza is now set to be completed in 2011. So in the meantime, Seoul City officials have sought to build public interest and enthusiasm for good design through the Seoul Design Olympiad.

My friend Uikwon poses just inside the 1988 Olympic Stadium, main site of the Seoul Design Olympiad 2009.

Started in 2008, the Olympiad aims to make design easily accessible in everyone’s day-to-day life through an extensive array of activities, including a Design Conference, Exhibition, Competition and Festival. To that end, the three-week event’s theme is “iDesign”, connoting that in this day and age, we all can be designers.

A photo with yellow woman and plastic bottle Haechi.

Although the Olympiad has small venues peppered around the city, its headquarters is the 1988 Olympic Stadium in the Jamsil area of southern Seoul. Outside the stadium, people painted entirely in yellow, black and brown set the mood by interacting with startled visitors. Most of them were posing for pictures among several colorful statues of Haechi, the mythical fire-eating creature that’s become Seoul’s new mascot. Among them, the largest is covered in flattened plastic soft drink bottles.

Another photo, this time with white design bug.

Upon entering the stadium, two huge, silver-colored inflatable pavilions wrap around the central field like giant caterpillars with a large lawn in between. Above them are hundreds of pieces of white fabric in assorted lengths waving gently in the wind.

Once inside the pavilions, scores of displays, stalls and exhibitions come into view. Among them, my favorite areas are the INDEX Awards display and the World Design Market.

The Design Olympiad had no shortage of displays touting the Seoul’s upcoming distinction as World Design Capital 2010.

The INDEX Award was created in 2005 by a Danish NGO to champion the use of design to improve peoples’ lives. For the Olympiad, some 700 nominations from over 50 countries were screened down to 69 exhibited designs separated into themes like Home, Body, Work, Play and Community. Five circular showrooms featured products covering everything from clothes, sports equipment, public utilities and healthcare devices.

Some better-known design innovations… although word has it that the space creature-esque citrus juicer isn’t very practical in use.

The World Design Market features rows of private vendors, mostly Seoul-based artists who are given a couple of square meters to hawk their goods. Cleverly designed personal items like nightlights, jewelry and diaries were for sale at very reasonable prices. It was a great place to get some early holiday shopping accomplished.

Outside the main pavilions were free standing containers like this one displaying and selling items.

Outside the two main pavilions were a number of other satellite sites. In one located near an exit called “Design Streets,” a booth by the very design-conscious telecom company SK distributed free copies of a hefty new book. As the name suggests, “Seoul Design Spot 201” profiles 201 of the city’s best sports for design. At several hundred pages, this beautiful and handy book was an unexpected treat.

A rendering of Seoul’s new City Hall. Personally, I like it better rendered in this white than the actual colors.

Having also attended the 2008 Design Olympiad, I was happy to see that the 2009 version was better organized and on a grander scale. There also seemed to be a lot more public interest, no doubt encouraged by the free price of admission. All in all, the Seoul Design Olympiad 2009 was a good test run for 2010, when the city hosts a year-long celebration as the World’s new design capital.

More Information:
Seoul Design Olympiad 2009 Official Site

Getting There:
→ The primary site for the Seoul Design Olympiad is the Seoul Sports Complex, which can be accessed via Seoul Metro Line 2’s Sports Complex Station. The event will occur from October 9-29, 2009.

(A version of this text aired on KBS World Radio on October 21, 2009.)