The Seoul Metropolitan Government will host the 2026 Seoul Design International Forum on September 15 at Art Hall 2 of Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP), bringing together leading domestic and international experts to explore how design can shape the cities of the future.

Under the theme “Vital Cities: Designing New Possibilities for Life,” this year’s forum will examine ways to enhance the vitality, resilience and sustainability of future cities through innovative design.

Now in its seventh year, the annual forum forms part of Seoul’s efforts to strengthen its global competitiveness and establish itself as a world-leading design city. The venue itself reflects that ambition: DDP, designed by architect Zaha Hadid and opened in 2014, has become one of Seoul’s most recognizable cultural landmarks, and Seoul has been a UNESCO Creative City of Design since 2010.

The program will open with a keynote presentation by Liam Young, an Australian designer and filmmaker known for work examining how technology shapes urban futures, followed by two sessions featuring presentations and discussions by nine experts from Korea and abroad.

The first session, “Urban Design That Brings Vitality to Life,” will feature professor Lee In-ah of Seoul National University’s Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences; Suh Eun-ryung, Director of Architecture and Engineering Services at the New York City Housing Authority; and Choi In-gyu, Director General of Design Policy at the Seoul Metropolitan Government. The speakers will explore topics ranging from the relationship between brain plasticity and urban environments to urban resilience and design policy — a lineup that pairs Seoul’s own policy direction with perspectives from cognitive science and public housing practice in New York.

The second session, “Urban Ecosystems Evolving Through Design,” will feature Peng Beng Khoo, dean of Singapore University of Technology and Design; Lee Seok-woo, CEO of SWNA; and professor Sheng-Hung Lee of the University of Michigan. They will discuss future housing design in high-density cities, creative approaches to design, and new possibilities for design in an aging society — themes that also mirror demographic and density challenges facing cities across Korea and East Asia.

The forum will run from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. and is expected to draw approximately 500 participants. Attendance is free, and anyone interested can register online through the forum website by Tuesday. Those unable to attend in person can watch the event live on the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s official Korean- and English-language YouTube channels, where past forum sessions are also typically available for later viewing.

In-person participants will also have a chance to win Seoul-themed prizes, including GO SEOUL transportation-brand merchandise and goods featuring Seoul’s 2026 signature color, Morning Yellow.

Source: The Korea Times