Design Fair debuts in Seoul Friday

Participants of the Seoul Design Fair 2010 look around a design-oriented garden inside Jamsil Sports Complex during a press tour yesterday. The fair will kick off Friday at the sports stadium in southern Seoul and it will continue until Oct. 7. [NEWSIS]

Local and international design experts, design major students and others will be able to glimpse eco-friendly and creative design products and displays, when the Seoul Design Fair 2010 begins tomorrow, Seoul city announced yesterday.

The festival, sponsored by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, will run until Oct. 7.

The fair, formerly called the Seoul Design Olympiad, was launched three years ago to cement and spread the importance of design-awareness in an effort to improve quality of life.

Seoul was designated the World Design Capital 2010 to showcase its ongoing design policies and projects in the belief that design can generate economic, social and cultural benefits.

During the festival, participants can take tours of Jamsil Sports Complex and four main design clusters - the Mapo-Hongdae area, Dongdaemun Design Plaza, the Guro Digital Complex and the Gangnam-Shinsa area.

Participants can also get a glimpse of design products created by local and international design experts and university students from 103 countries.

There will also be venues where visitors can purchase eco-friendly design products and children can design their own dream cars under the instruction of design experts.

To celebrate Chuseok, Seoul city government will feature a “food design fair” at Jamsil Sports Complex where traditional cuisine will be served for free to 2,010 people next Tuesday to Thursday.

By Kim Mi-ju [mijukim@joongang.co.kr]