Conference urges Korea to set up Asia`s best design center

“Now is the era of design. It is time to establish the best design center in Asia in tune with the economic development phase of Korea.”

The International Design and Development Conference, which was co-hosted by The Dong-A Ilbo and the global media group Nielson, was held at the W Hotel in Seoul Wednesday.

The event was the first world-class conference on “design and urban development” hosted by Korea. More than 30 world-renowned experts on interior design, the hospitality industry, and urban development projects made presentations and took part in discussions.

More than 550 people from Korea and elsewhere participated in the conference, showing enthusiastic interest in the event, which will continue through Thursday.

○ Turn Korea into Asian design hub

The Seoul suburb of Guri, Gyeonggi Province, which organized the conference, is pursing the development of the Guri World Design Center, where interior designs for upscale buildings and furniture can be devised and traded. The plan involves the organization of a world-class design expo comparable in scale to the Las Vegas HD Expo and development of the facility into the largest design center in Asia.

As the first speaker at the conference, Korea University professor emeritus Kwak Sang-kyung said, “Korea has achieved economic development through the first phase of destruction after the Korean War, second phase of transition, third phase of leap, fourth phase of mass production, and fifth phase of mass consumption.”

“In the aspect of housing, perception toward the apartment has also changed to a place of living rather than an object for (real estate) speculation, so interior design has grown all the more important.”

Kwak said, “The Design Center will play a critical role in innovatively transforming housing culture,” adding, “Establishing a design center and attracting famous design companies as well as the expo itself will generate demand in the market and have ripple effects to the Asian market.”

○ Unlimited growth potential of hospitality industry

The prerequisite for the success of a design center is the development of the hospitality industry, or the sector covering the development of hotels, resorts and upscale residential complexes and their operations. If this industry develops, it will naturally increase demand for hospitality designs.

Experts presented analyses of today`s hospitality design and an insightful outlook for the sector`s future. In his speech “Orientalism and modern interpretation of traditional Korean spaces,” said Yoo Jeong-han, senior vice chairman of the Korea Society of Interior Architects/Designers, citing how Indonesia and Bhutan applied their traditional designs in the modern world and the potential for Korea following their example.

jaeyuna@donga.com