Italian Design Day held in Gangnam's High Street Italia

Arts & Design

Published: 10 Mar. 2023, 13:17

Italian Design Day held in Gangnam's High Street Italia

From left: Chang Ju-young, a design professor at Dongseo University, Italian architect Ico Migliore and one of Migliore’s graduate students, Yu Ji-na, during the 2023 Italian Design Day on Thursday at High Street Italia in southern Seoul [EMBASSY OF ITALY IN KOREA]

The 2023 Italian Design Day kicked off Thursday at High Street Italia in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, where guest speaker Ico Migliore talked about the top-notch quality and sustainability of Italian designs.

The first Italian Design Day was held in 2017 and now consists of experts from all over the world promoting Italian design in major cities, including Seoul. In Korea, the event is hosted by the Embassy of Italy in Korea, the Italian Trade Agency and the Italian Cultural Institute of Seoul.

Migliore is an Italian architect and chair professor of the College of Design at Dongseo University in Busan. He is also the Korean ambassador for this edition.

For this year’s theme, “The Quality That Lights Up,” Migliore emphasized how light is crucial in the development of design projects.

“Light is central; fundamental for everything,” he said. “We need to listen to design [and understand] what’s going to happen around our spaces.

"Light helps manage space in a cinematic way,” Migliore said, giving examples through a comparison with the theater and the stadium.

His colleague and fellow design professor at Dongseo University, Chang Ju-young, and one of Migliore’s graduate students, Yu Ji-na, also gave a presentation about their ongoing design projects.

The 2023 Italian Design Day festivities continue through Friday.

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]