‘Public Design Festival 2024’ Promotes the Inclusive Value of Public Design

The Ministry of Culture Sports and Tourism (Minister Yoo In-chon hereafter MCST) will host the Public Design Festival 2024 from October 25 to November 3 in collaboration with the Korea Craft and Design Foundation (Director Jang Dong-kwang hereafter KCDF). The festival will be held primarily in Daejeon with events occurring at over 180 locations nationwide. First Vice Minister Yong Ho-seong will attend the opening ceremony at CoSociety in Seongdong-gu Seoul on October 25 where he will present the 2024 Korea Public Design Award which has been elevated to the Presidential Award this year and encourage those in the public design sector.

Marking its third year the Public Design Festival has chosen the theme of Inclusion as its slogan focusing on how public design can creatively address social issues improve quality of life and expand its societal role. The festival will highlight various case studies demonstrating how public design can lead to tangible changes and will seek to expand public understanding and experience of public design.

‘2024 Korea Public Design Award’ Focuses on the Inclusive Value and Innovation of Public Design Across Generations Classes and Regions

The 2024 Korea Public Design Award selected 14 outstanding projects and 23 innovative ideas under the theme Inclusion: Change for Everyone. The Presidential Award will go to the Omok Park Renovation project in Yangcheon-gu Seoul. Originally built in 1989 this park was renovated into a cultural and artistic park with exercise facilities an art museum children’s play areas and green spaces to cater to the leisure needs of the citizens who use the space today. The project received high praise for revamping the park while preserving the original square colonnade structure organically connecting facilities to provide diverse activities for all generations regardless of the weather. The high level of understanding and proactive efforts by the Yangcheon-gu Office were also acknowledged for improving the park’s design quality and enhancing the efficiency of its programs and management.

The MCST Minister Award winners include:

In the Outstanding Cases category Creating a Multi-Sensory Life Garden for Elderly Cognitive Health by Gwangmyeong City Gyeonggi Province.
In the Ideas category Trash Integrated Guide Web Service Merge (Kim Hyun-ji Bae Mi-ae).
In the Local Government category Yongin Special City will receive the award. Additionally 21 award-winning works that reflect local culture and identity will be exhibited at CoSociety from October 25 to 27.
Public Design Forum in Daejeon a Hub for Public Design Promotion

Daejeon selected as the festival’s regional partner city will host the Public Design Forum on October 30 at the Daejeon Modern and Contemporary History Exhibition Hall (formerly Chungnam Provincial Government Office). As a city at the forefront of advanced science and technology Daejeon has gained attention for its innovative inclusive urban policies such as the nation’s first certification system for pet-friendly facilities. The forum will feature notable figures including Professor Ezio Manzini an authority on sustainable design from Politecnico di Milano and Patrick Reymond co-founder of Swiss design studio Atelier Oï as well as representatives from Korail Hyundai Duty-Free and Seongdong District Office. Together with 15 domestic and international designers companies and municipalities they will share ideas on Inclusive Design for Communities.

Daejeon will also promote its 37 public design landmarks such as the railway official residence village the Daejeon Pet Park and the Daejeon Municipal Museum using mascots like Kumdori and the country’s first public bike-sharing system Tashu.

Public Design Education Conferences and Experiential Events at Over 180 Public Design Hubs Nationwide

Throughout the festival (Oct. 25 - Nov. 3) over 180 public design hubs across the country will host a variety of programs including forums educational workshops (in Daejeon) public design laboratories* (in Seoul Bucheon Daejeon) conferences (in Seoul and Daejeon) children’s public design programs linked with the Miracle Library (in Jeongeup Bupyeong Cheongju) a PechaKucha event in collaboration with the Swiss Embassy (in Seoul)** and city sketching activities (in Gyeongju). In addition visitors to public design hubs in Daejeon Seoul Suwon Asan Jeonju Gyeongju and Busan can explore themed travel courses that link various regional design hubs providing opportunities to experience the unique charms of each area.

*Public Design Laboratories: Projects where design ideas are proposed or installed at specific locations allowing citizens to participate experiment and provide feedback which can shape future implementations.
**PechaKucha: An event where eight designers (four from Korea and four from Switzerland) rapidly present their design worlds through 20 slides each shown for 20 seconds.

For more details on the Public Design Festival 2024 programs and schedules please visit the official website (publicdesign.kr/festival). Pre-registration for certain programs is also available on the website.

An MCST policy official remarked As we celebrate the festival’s third year we have prepared programs that allow participants to discover the new value of public design in various spaces from urban regeneration areas to eco-friendly green spaces and local brand spaces across the country. We hope that many citizens will join us in experiencing the value of public design firsthand.

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