Seoul Design Festival 2020 -- one of Korea’s major design fairs -- will start on Dec. 9 at Coex in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul, with the theme “New Normal.”

This year’s festival will provide an opportunity to explore sustainable designs that are expected to be used widely after the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.

During the five-day festival, approximately 200 design brands from home and abroad will set up 400 booths. The participating brands will present a variety of design products that would help comfort coronavirus blues and sustainably coexist with nature.

The exhibition will also feature a program “Young Designer Promotion” to introduce young and talented designers in Korea. On-site talks and panels by designers and professionals to discuss sustainable designs will be held, of which the schedule will be announced soon, according the festival organizer. 

Founded in 2002, the annual design festival has grown into an event that suggests the major theme of the year in the design industry and introduces designers to the domestic market as well as helping them to expand globally. A total of 1,850 brands have promoted their designs and over 4,730 designers were discovered through the festival. This year marks the 19th festival since the foundation.

The admission fee is 12,000 won and can be purchased at the official website (seoul.designfestival.co.kr) or Naver. For early birds, up to 3,000 tickets will be sold at 8,000 won. The festival is organized by Designhouse and supported by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

By Park Yuna (yunapark@heraldcorp.com)