Design Miami has unveiled its first occasion in Seoul, which opened on 1 September 2025. Titled ‘Illuminated: A Highlight on Korean Design’, the occasion is held in collaboration with the Seoul Design Basis and takes place on the Zaha Hadid-designed Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP). The design truthful runs by 14 September 2025, in parallel with the worldwide artwork festivals Frieze Seoul and Kiaf, with the intention to create synergy within the artwork and design scene in Seoul (Wallpaper’s ‘Finest Metropolis’ in our 2024 Design Awards).
Design Miami’s Seoul debut
(Picture credit score: Ilda Kim, courtesy of Design Miami)
The 2-week occasion is the primary multi-day occasion beneath the Design Miami.In Situ initiative, following an inaugural one-day occasion in Aspen, Colorado, in July 2025. Design Miami.In Situ is a travelling, localised exhibition collection that goals to supply regionalised experiences and domesticate native design communities, and was created in celebration of Design Miami’s twentieth anniversary this 12 months.
The Seoul truthful, marking the primary time the design exhibition lands in Asia, showcases round 170 items of Korean collectible design by 71 artists and spotlights Korean design luminaries who’ve formed the nation’s design panorama, spanning from conventional craft to pioneering design improvements.
(Picture credit score: Ilda Kim, courtesy of Design Miami)
‘The title was impressed by the Korean phrase ‘jo‑myeong’ which implies ‘to light up,’’ stated Hyeyoung Cho, chairperson of the Korea Affiliation of Artwork & Design, who curated the exhibition. ‘There are such a lot of proficient Korean artists, and I’m delighted to have the ability to make clear their works by this exhibition. The strengths of Korean artists lie of their use of supplies similar to wooden, metallic and horsehair. Most of the exhibited artists are Loewe Basis Craft Prize finalists. I believe the timing of this exhibition is ideal as Korean tradition has gained unimaginable reputation lately.’
(Picture credit score: Ilda Kim, courtesy of Design Miami)
‘We’ve been taking note of Seoul for a very long time,’ stated Jen Roberts, CEO of Design Miami. ‘There’s a historical past of nice collectors on this metropolis. Prior to now decade, we have seen a rise of participation within the design neighborhood from Korea. It began 14 years in the past with one gallery, and now there are a lot of Korean designers with many worldwide galleries.’
Holding the Design Miami.In Situ at DDP is especially significant, as ‘Zaha Hadid obtained the inaugural Designer of the 12 months Award at Design Miami’s first version in 2005’, says Roberts. ‘Now, 20 years on, we’re honoured to current our first-ever exhibition in Seoul inside considered one of her iconic landmarks,’ she explains.
(Picture credit score: Ilda Kim, courtesy of Design Miami)
The exhibition spans two storeys on the Igansumun exhibition corridor, named after one of many historic water gates of Seoul’s previous fortress wall in the course of the Joseon Dynasty. The partially restored historic website is now an exhibition area inside DDP, which is run by the Seoul Design Basis.
Cha Kang Heui, CEO of Seoul Design Basis, was excited to ‘showcase Seoul’s artistic power and design potential’, and anticipates Seoul will develop into ‘a central hub main the worldwide discourse on design’.
Alongside the exhibition, the truthful additionally presents an all-day programme of Design Talks, discussing Korean creativity and design within the international market.
Design Miami in Seoul: 11 Korean designers to know
Kyeok Kim
‘Second Floor Chandelier 02’ by Kyeok Kim (proper)
(Picture credit score: WeCAP, courtesy of Design Miami)
Exuding an awesome presence in entrance of the principle entrance is Kyeok Kim’s ‘Second Floor Chandelier 02’, which is an atmospheric porous chandelier hovering within the ceiling. This construction that appears like a residing organism is meticulously certain by layers of crochet copper wire and lacquered utilizing centuries-old Korean conventional lacquer method ‘ottchil’.
Byung Hoon Choi
(Picture credit score: Ilda Kim, courtesy of Design Miami)
Harmoniously positioned subsequent to Kim’s chandelier is Byung Hoon Choi’s ‘afterimage of starting’ collection introduced by Friedman Benda. Choi makes use of pure supplies similar to wooden, clay, granite, and stone, and his sculptural but practical works are rooted within the craft traditions of Korea however expressed in a recent means. Choi is a pioneering determine in Korean design, who has fostered many younger artists within the discipline and introduced Korean artistry to the worldwide stage.
Joonyong Kim
‘Yellowish Deep Grey Evening (2024)’ by Kim Joonyong
(Picture credit score: Courtesy of Design Miami)
‘Yellowish Deep Grey Evening (2024)’ by Joonyong Kim is the gorgeous and chic glass vase that adorns the exhibition poster. ‘Forged-blowing’ – blowing molten glass right into a solid mould – is the tactic Kim makes use of to create his glass works. The mesmerising colors are impressed by pure mild from dawn to sundown and Kim tries to seize and materialise the spectrum and ephemerality of pure mild within the glass.
Dongjun Kim
‘Moon Jar’ (2024) by Dongjun Kim
(Picture credit score: Courtesy of Design Miami)
Reverse the doorway lies a collection of chic jars, considered one of which is Dongjun Kim’s ‘Moon Jar’ – a white porcelain ceramic vessel. Kim’s ‘Moon Jars’ are fired in a wood-fire kiln lit by timber he sources himself throughout winter, and his sluggish craft methodology is a continuation of the historic white porcelain manufacturing methodology used in the course of the Joseon dynasty. The complete-moon-shaped jar historically symbolises wholeness and concord in addition to good luck and fortune.
Jongjin Park
‘Blue Patchwork 1’ (2024) by Jongjin Park
(Picture credit score: Ilda Kim, courtesy of Design Miami)
Two funky-looking blue vessels sit subsequent to Kim’s ‘Moon Jar’ – spectacular millefeuille vessels layered up with 1,000 particular person sheets of paper. Primarily based on his expertise with the centuries-old Moon Jar craft, Jongin Park developed an modern strategy of portray porcelain slips onto single sheets of on a regular basis paper towels. The sculptural vessels created consequently embody amazingly vibrant and shocking textures.
Kuho Jung
‘Bandaji’ (2025) by Kuho Jung
(Picture credit score: Ilda Kim, courtesy of Design Miami)
An attention-grabbing addition to the exhibition assortment is ‘Bandaji’, a conventional Korean storage chest, by Korea’s well-known cross-disciplinary artistic director Kuho Jung. Initially a designer, he moved on to direct performances and designed costumes for the Nationwide Dance Firm of Korea. His creative imaginative and prescient has expanded into furnishings with the ‘Bandaji’ collection, as he reinterprets the standard chest by combining clear Plexiglas with white metallic fittings.
Kyounghee Kim
‘Door’ (2022) by Kyounghee Kim
(Picture credit score: Courtesy of Design Miami)
On the stairway main right down to the second exhibition corridor stand two giant ‘jogakbo’ artworks by Kyounghee Kim, delicately patchworked utilizing silk organza. Jogakbo refers to a selected kind of ‘bojagi’ – or wrapping material, typically handmade from silk or cotton – made by patchworking leftover material items.
Jungin Lee
‘A Smooth Panorama #2’ (2025) by Jungin Lee
(Picture credit score: Ilda Kim, courtesy of Design Miami)
On the backside of the staircase is an instantly eye-catching white couch by Jungin Lee, introduced by Charles Burnand Gallery. Aware of the environmental influence of furniture-making, Lee turned to ‘hanji’ – a conventional Korean paper created from the bark of the mulberry tree, traditionally used within the development of Korean houses. She adopted the age-old strategy of pasting hanji onto lattice home windows to create her distinctive, sculptural chairs.
Dahyeon Yoo
‘Concord V01’ (2023) by Dahyeon Yoo
(Picture credit score: Courtesy of Design Miami)
Quietly sitting among the many artwork furnishings is a pair of leather-based woven circumstances by Dahyeon Yoo. Yoo’s ‘Concord’ collection (2023-2025) utilises historic methods originating from Korean rice straw folks crafts of the Joseon Dynasty interval and applies them to leather-based. The balanced, symmetrical types symbolize internal concord.
Dahye Jeong
‘A Time of Sincerity’ (2025) by Dahye Jeong
(Picture credit score: Courtesy of Design Miami)
Winner of the Loewe Basis Craft Prize 2022, Dahye Jeong presents her new work, ‘Drift as you’re’ (2025), which sees her distinctive craft, working with horsehair, represented within the type of a wall mild. Her horsehair vessel, ‘A Time of Sincerity’ (2021), from the Loewe Craft Prize, additionally returns this 12 months, in black.
Wonmin Park
(Picture credit score: Courtesy of Design Miami)
Centrally staged within the downstairs exhibition corridor is Wonmin Park’s ‘Stone & Metal’ collection introduced by Carpenters Workshop Gallery. Taking various cues from each the pure and industrial world, Park’s new collection of works features a console and a bench – items that juxtapose the contrasting natures of primordial volcanic rock and trendy industrial metal.
Supply: Wallpaper
