79 lifestyle brands to join market fair; conferences to feature Yoo Hyun-jun, Maria Foro and other experts; 150 design spots across 5 districts linked by 'Seoul Design Road'

An exhibition from the 2025 Seoul Design Week. [Seoul Metropolitan Government]
An exhibition from the 2025 Seoul Design Week. [Seoul Metropolitan Government]

The Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Design Foundation will hold the 2026 Seoul Design Week from Oct. 14 to Oct. 25 — a 12-day run centered on Dongdaemun Design Plaza and extending to key neighborhoods including Seongsu and Yeonhui, the city announced Thursday.

This year's event takes "The Design Recipe" as its theme, combining exhibitions, a fair and conferences at DDP with programs that link design spaces and creative activities across the city.

A notable expansion this year takes the event beyond its traditional DDP focus by connecting Seoul's creative venues and design landmarks. A "Seoul Design Road" will string together 150 design spots across five districts — Dongdaemun, Yeonhui, Seongsu, Seochon and Apgujeong — turning the city itself into one vast design showcase.

At DDP, visitors can experience design from multiple angles through the DDP Design Fair, Seoul Design Week Conference, design exhibitions and a design market. In neighborhoods such as Seongsu and Yeonhui, off-site programs will offer direct encounters with local creators and studios.

The DDP Design Fair is the event's flagship program, with 79 domestic lifestyle brands taking part. Exhibition spaces will be organized around visitors' lifestyles and tastes, and a special Young Designer pavilion will showcase collaborative projects between university design students and companies.

The Seoul Design Week Conference will bring together domestic and international experts in design and lifestyle to discuss Seoul's design scene, urban transformation, and the present and future direction of K-design — examining homegrown success stories alongside perspectives from overseas design communities.

The DDP design exhibitions will present a range of curated shows on themes including designers' creative journeys, contemporary design trends and cross-border design exchange. Shows such as "Designer Scale-Up," "Collective Seoul," "It-Alliance: Strange Italy" and "Studio Practice" will highlight not only finished works but also the creative process and industrial potential behind them.

The DDP design market will offer products spanning lifestyle, vintage, craft, fashion, jewelry and food and beverage. Off-site programs running in key neighborhoods across Seoul will connect local design spaces with creative activities beyond the DDP campus.

Seoul Design Week began collaborating with 29CM on the DDP Design Fair in 2025, bringing a fresh direction to the program. Last year's fair, held at the art hall under the theme "Design, Designer, Design Life," drew about 30,000 paying visitors.

"This year's Seoul Design Week will connect creative scenes across the city, showing how designers' ideas can grow into industry and how Seoul's brands and K-design can reach the world," said Cha Gang-hee, chief executive of the Seoul Design Foundation.


ikson@heraldcorp.com