Seoul Design International Forum 2025 – Short version of the theme video.
Seoul Design International Forum is a global platform to share the power of design that transforms cities and lives.
Your interest and participation are the driving force that leads Seoul to become an even more attractive global design city.
In the upcoming SDIF 2026, we will continue the in-depth discussions on sustainability, creative collaboration, and the quality of life.
Universal Design for Health Care Facilities
[Start of Universal Design at Eunpyeong Hospital in Seoul] The perception of the psychiatric ward is not positive - not only does it bear the social stigma of a dangerous disease, but also the medical environment surrounding the ‘mentally disabled’. Psychiatric facilities are often underdeveloped, and while things may be changing, the doctor-patient relationship is often one-way, with the patient seen only as the ‘recipient’.
Social Problem Solving Design, Reinforcement of Resiliency Capacity Through Design
The COVID-19 pandemic is a crisis that no one has ever experienced. Existing social problems, such as economic recession, relative poverty, increased depression due to social isolation, and the intensification of suffering experienced by vulnerable groups such as infants, young children, the elderly, and the disabled, are being exacerbated by the pandemic. Medical staff and other members of society in various fields are making every effort to identify and deal with unpredictable situations in their respective positions, and the Seoul Metropolitan Government is also currently doing its best to overcome the Corona situation. We are now living in an era where problem-solving strategies are needed more than ever. There is an urgent need for a paradigm shift in policy to prevent and improve social problems that incur huge social costs, rather than reactive measures. Design is one of the main solutions to improve this, and it is a core competency and process that is already being used by many organizations and companies pursuing innovation as well as the public as a tool for solving problems. Through the social problem-solving design policy, the Seoul Metropolitan Government breaks away from the microscopic view of physical improvement and applies design to the overall municipal administration, designing a plan and process for problem-solving, and jointly solving it with various stakeholders. ‘Social resilience’ can be said to be the interaction between the vulnerability of a city and its resilience capacity. The vulnerability of a city is affected by many social problems inherent in the city, and the city's recovery capacity means the city's resources and systems that can overcome and solve these problems. Seoul Design wants to work together to increase the resilience of society so that our daily lives, which have been changed by non-contact, isolation, and social distancing, can be more closely connected.
[Panel Discussion 1] Empowering Global Design Capabilities through Urban Initiatives
[Chair] We have arranged this special gathering today to highlight DDP's contributions in leading global design culture, strengthening industrial competitiveness, and spreading design values. We are honored to have Mr. Craig Kiner, Mr. Junggi Sung, Mr. Sang Lee, Prof. Dr. Peter Zec, and Curator Dahyoung Chung join us for an in-depth discussion about balance, universality, and public nature in urban design. This session will serve as a cultural forum to examine how design thinking outcomes influence our city's competitiveness and policy development. Today's discussion will particularly focus on the philosophy and culture inherent in design, inclusive design, accessibility, and non-discriminatory design, along with their contexts, experiences, and creativity.
Cities, Design, and the Future
In 1999, the Clinton administration proposed the ‘Livable Communities’ initiative and emphasized the quality of life as an urban competitiveness. Cities that are ‘great to live in’ or ‘appealing to live in’ are without a doubt one of the policy priorities of all local governments and citizens. However, compared to the previous practice in which the policies focused on a materialized life in the physical space of a city, the ‘quality of life’ is an abstract concept that is perceived differently by people. Thus, forming policy agenda around the idea may not be so simple. Instead of focusing on the physical concept of a city, drawing attention to residents and understanding communities as a group of people who reside in a city are crucial when it comes to the dialogue on the quality of life in cities. In this sense, it’s important for residents to identify themselves as agents of living and active participants who plan their own lives.
[Abstract] Designing Cities for People & Planet: From Vision to Impact
• Brief introduction of our mission at Gehl (Making Cities for People), incl. working for cities and communities to be equitable, healthy and sustainable places for all. • Argue why urban design must shift from infrastructure-led models to human-centered approaches and call for holistic approaches that not only aim at good design of public spaces but also contribute to greater societal goals. • Today a stronger focus on “all life”/our planet the past couple of years to enable climate action and impact, though our approach to planning and design and “old” principles remains the same and are just as relevant today. • Across the world, we’re in a time of poly-crisis (climate change, energy transition, urban security) and since 70% of the world’s population will be living in cities by 2050, we need a new urban approach. • Helle will argue about the need for climate-aligned urbanism and that we at Gehl dare to believe that averting the worst of climate change can bring out the best in cities. • Illustrate how this will impact and change the way residents move, consume and live – with more time in active mobility together, more sharing of resources and more shared spaces.
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.
[Special Interview] Craig Kiner
1. What was it like to return to Korea and visit DDP, a place you personally contributed to designing? It was a pleasure returning to Seoul to attend the Seoul Design International Forum 2024. I was involved with the design, development and construction of DDP over 6 years. I thoroughly enjoyed visiting the facility once again. Considering the facility is now10 years since completion, the building has performed well. SDF and SMG have been superb guardians of DDP organising a broad programme of events to ensure the facility remains a key component of the cultural infrastructure and life of Seoul, with art, fashion, music and design at the forefront.
Fun Design Rest Area “Handeul Handeul” Wins at the Red Dot Design Award
- Seoul’s Fun Design rest area “Handeul Handeul” has been named a Winner at the Red Dot Design Award 2026. - First unveiled at Seoul Plaza in 2025, the project has gained international recognition for both its design excellence and public value. - The rest area will be permanently operated at the 2026 Seoul International Garden Show in Seoul Forest, becoming a signature everyday relaxation space for citizens. - Marking the third year of the project, the Seoul Metropolitan Government will continue to expand public rest areas so that more citizens can experience the benefits in their daily lives.Opening Speech - Director-General of Design Policy Bureau, Choi In-Kyu
I would like to first extend my gratitude to the speakers at home and abroad who prepared for the Seoul Design International Forum which is in its third year this year and to all citizens participating online. Thank you all.
The Necessity of Introducing Pedestrian Application for the Visually Impaired to Build a Smart City Based on Universal Design
Accessibility means that disabled and non-disabled people can use all services and products equally, and it can be said that it is in line with universal design that pursues design for everyone. So, how can people with disabilities communicate externally? They are being helped by various assistive technologies. Assistive technology refers to all products, equipment, software, or systems that help individuals with disabilities to achieve their full potential. As the concept of assistive technology becomes universal, the paradigm for disability has changed. As a representative example, screen readers and electronic information terminals are assistive technologies that help visually impaired people to communicate, and include screen readers and electronic information terminals. With technological help, visually impaired people can independently perform various tasks, such as searching the Internet and writing documents. Today, these assistive technologies are being applied in a way that provides convenient services to anyone rather than being a technology only for the disabled. For example, audiobooks, which existed in the past as a service to help visually impaired people in reading, are now becoming universal as a technology for everyone, as it has become one of the types of reading that non-disabled people can choose according to their needs.
Universal Design Project for Convenient Spaces: Public Restrooms
The Republic of Korea is experiencing radical demographic changes, such as the super-aged society and an increase in the foreign population. The public sector is obliged to create comfortable spaces for parents to go out with infants as well as an environment for seniors, persons with disabilities, and children. Recently, public spaces have been improved with the acknowledgment of diversity and the reinforcement of legal regulations. However, laws do not regulate details of small-scale unit spaces, which have low priorities when it comes to spatial improvement. For example, the SMG remodeled many aged community service centers during the “‘Outreach Project for Spatial Improvement of Community Service Centers,” but restrooms were not included in the scope of this project. As such, Seoul has built and improved good spaces, but it excluded small-scale spaces like restrooms. Among diverse spaces, restrooms, in particular, are crucial for solving physiological issues. Therefore, restrooms should be available at any place. Though Koreans tend to allow people to use restrooms freely, many restrooms in old buildings of Seoul are not open to the public. Accordingly, the Design Policy Division of Seoul and the Seoul Universal Design Center (“Center”) selected restrooms, places with an urgent need for universal design among small-scale unit spaces, as the first target for improvement, as well as a target for the “Outreach Project for Spatial Improvement of Community Service Centers.”
Universal Design in the Era of Digital Transformation - Creating a World for All Digital Transformation for Universal Design - Inclusive World
Unlike in the past, the concept of 'disability' is today recognized in accordance with aspects of information accessibility and social context. Many problems can be solved through technology. If accessibility is not considered continuously while creating a new environment, people will feel new disabilities, and to prevent this, accessibility, interaction, and cultural change must be considered. Microsoft's mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Just as in the past Microsoft made it easy for people to access information and the Internet through PCs, its direction now is to help people achieve more than ever before through technology. In terms of increasing the accessibility of information by providing software services to all organizations and everyone, it can be seen that this is in line with the purpose of universal design. When we approach the concept of disability, we think of individual health and physical condition first, but disability differs from general interactions and does not represent physical characteristics or health conditions. Of the many people with disabilities, 70% are visually impaired. In addition, in the United States, about 26,000 people each year have a permanent disability due to bodily injury, and some suffer temporary discomfort due to injury. Therefore, since disability is not determined and applicable by physical conditions, but can be experienced temporarily or contextually, design should be developed and services should be prepared according to these situational criteria. There are over 1 billion people with disabilities on the planet. On top of this, as we are entering an aging society, in the future, more people may face a situation in which they need to work in a different environment or access information. Therefore, accessibility should be considered from a long-term perspective. Microsoft has already developed accessibility and high-contrast screen features in Windows since the early days of Windows in 1990, and will continue to do so in the future.