President Park Geun-hye said Tuesday that design has become an important field that can not only boost the value of the cultural industry but also has the potential to create a “new economy.”

In her congratulatory letter to the Herald Design Forum 2015, the president said design offers a variety of industries and people to gain insights and opportunities.

“It has the capability to increase (the value of) cultural assets and creativity,” she said in the message read by the forum’s emcee during the opening ceremony at the Grand Hyatt Seoul.

“I hope that design can further add value not only to its sector but also society and economy through this forum. I truly hope that the forum grows into an international forum beyond Asia.”

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon delivered his congratulatory remarks, emphasizing that the world has entered a “design era” where young creative minds can change society through creative thinking.

Design is changing the way people do things in arts and culture, and most importantly, boosting job creation especially for the young, he said.

“Despite what anybody says, we are in an age where the young, the arts and design can change the world,” said the mayor.

“It is creating jobs, spurring arts and innovation enabling us to do things differently everyday through collectivity. I hope the Herald Design Forum and Seoul Design Week can become global events as we share value.”

Hosted by Herald Corp., the publisher of The Korea Herald, this year’s forum brought together 11 creative minds across diverse fields from architecture, art and branding to 3-D printing, who shared their insights on the future of design.   

By Park Hyong-ki (hkp@heraldcorp.com)