Last September, the Seoul International Design Forum 2023 was held - a forum for sharing the innovation and challenges of changemakers who are transforming cities!
The Seoul International Design Forum (SDIF) is a platform where we explore cities - where our daily lives unfold - from various perspectives and meet the challenges of activists and innovators who create yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
SDIF presents bold agendas each year and invites speakers who represent these themes for lectures and discussions.
Looking at past themes, they have presented truly diverse and transformative innovations such as challenges for sustainable cities, moving data: experience design that creates 'flow', and the philosophy and implementation of spaces needed to create the 'essence of experience'.
As a result, many people visit the venue seeking insights, making it quite bustling.
Humanizing Cities
Innovation and Challenges for Human-Centered Cities
The 2023 forum brought together world-renowned designers, architects, and top experts to examine how Seoul, our city, is being illuminated under the vision of 'Humanizing Cities' - something that seems so obvious yet is not being prioritized enough.
With such world-class masters gathering in one place, the Seoul Multi-Purpose Hall where the event was held was packed with attendees!
The speakers at this forum were absolutely incredible.
Thomas Heatherwick, Founder of Heatherwick
Shigeru Ban, Representative of Shigeru Ban Architects
Sohyun Choi, General Manager (former CEO of Perception, General Manager of Naver Design Marketing)
Mijin Yoon, Dean of Cornell University's College of Architecture, Art and Planning
Dalwoo Lee, CEO of Maeum Studio
Ingyu Choi, Director of Seoul Metropolitan Government's Design Policy Office
And Inhyuk Song, CEO of UniqueGood (Realworld), participated as a speaker.
Professor Hyekyung Yoon from Yonsei University served as moderator, and most importantly, so many people attended and stayed until the end, showing passionate interest.
You can really feel the atmosphere of the venue, right?
This year's forum agenda is 'Humanizing City: Human, Design, City'.
The stories containing each speaker's challenges were in different fields, but it was amazing how they all shared a common thread.
Here are some memorable keywords:
Humanizing City: Human, Design, City, Experience
Thomas Heatherwick: Making cities fun and exciting
Streets with Game, Exciting Architecture
Shigeru Ban: Architecture that embraces and supports communities
Balancing Humanitarian and Architectural works
Mijin Yoon: Spatial design that can contain and express collective consciousness
Ingyu Choi: Challenges toward Attractive Seoul, Play Seoul
Inhyuk Song: Play the City! The secret of experience content that brings people together, connects them, makes them buzz and overflow
Thomas Heatherwick:
Making cities fun and exciting!
Streets with game! Exciting architecture!
Thomas Heatherwick, founder of Heatherwick Studio, spoke on the theme 'What we want from cities (Humanizing our Cities)' and explained how monotonous building structures make humans bored and exhausted.
While humans have an instinct to pursue 'curiosity' and 'joy', urban architecture created solely for efficiency and functionality goes against human nature. He introduced his philosophy for approaching human-centered architecture that embraces humanity and the challenges based on this philosophy.
In simple terms, he pointed out how 'Streets with no game, boring architecture' negatively affects human mental and physical health, and the irony that architecture (demolishing and rebuilding) is responsible for over 40% of global carbon emissions. He proposed methods for creating 'Streets with game! Exciting architecture' where history and stories can coexist. The attempts to elegantly popularize social empathy and create resonance through understanding and compassion were truly moving.
Shigeru Ban: Balancing Humanitarian and Architectural Activities
The lecture by Shigeru Ban, known to us as 'the architect who builds hope with paper,' was also truly impressive.
While many may not know Shigeru Ban personally, most people would recognize the 'Paper Log Houses' for disaster victims that he created during the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and disasters around the world.
Using cylindrical paper structures shaped like toilet paper rolls, plastic beer crates, and only wood, he's famous not only for quickly creating shelters but also for devising unique designs that preserve human dignity.
Not to mention, he uses the same materials to create high-level architecture for top luxury brands, making them tourist destinations in themselves.
Shigeru Ban said:
Honestly, architects work 'to solve the needs' of the privileged, those who have.
But at the same time, architects also work to solve problems.
He introduced his journey of the past 20 years, traveling to disaster sites around the world, wanting to create public buildings at remarkably low costs and make the world we live in a better place.
His perspective of looking at the world from a community standpoint of living together in the world, rather than from an individual perspective of making money, was truly touching.
Inhyuk Song, CEO of UniqueGood: Play the City!
While the main speakers at the Seoul International Design Forum focused on 'spatial architecture,' Inhyuk Song, CEO of UniqueGood, presented the world of 'experience design' for people living in those cities.
To compare, while other speakers presented hardware platforms, CEO Song introduced how cities can be dynamically transformed through 'software platforms.'
Content defines experience vs Space defines experience
In our daily lives, we watch YouTube or Netflix every day.
Some people also enjoy games daily.
They're so fun that we want to enjoy them whenever we have time.
What's interesting is that we enjoy this content in the same space.
We mostly enjoy it at home.
The important point here is that 'while staying in the same space, depending on what content I watch and play, that space becomes a different world.'
When watching horror movies,
we shrink at even rustling sounds.
When playing fantasy games,
it becomes a thrilling space of adventure.
I am the protagonist of this story,
and the story can unfold or change because of me.
In other words,
'Content defines experience.'
'Content defines space.'
Furthermore, no matter how many people access and request it, you can enjoy it immediately without waiting time.
In other words, content can be distributed, scaled up, and becomes an industry.
The outdated paradigm where space defines experience: Tourism
What seems obvious, but space is not like that.
Space defines content, and space defines experience.
The protagonist is the space, and all participants have the same experience.
If it's a popular place, you have to wait in long lines.
Can't we turn boring exhibitions and tourism into exciting games?
When people go to museums or exhibition halls, they glance at exhibits hanging on walls as they pass by.
My interests or level of engagement are not considered.
The stories and meanings behind the exhibits can only be read as description texts, not in a form that can be savored.
Even if there's a docent, it focuses on one-way listening.
There's no dynamics and climax that games or movies provide.
Therefore, it's boring and the exhibition experience is just quickly passing through and leaving within minutes.
Even famous spaces are no different in terms of this experiential approach.
Innovation is possible when space and content define experience
What if spaces could transform like movies or games?
What if thrilling stories like Mission Impossible, National Treasure, or The Da Vinci Code unfold, and visitors could interact and enjoy it like playing a game?
What if stories unfold because of me, and spaces could react to me based on my choices and actions?
We could offer interesting experiences in the real world with overwhelming resolution compared to experiences trapped in screens.
CEO Song presents various elements needed to create the same immersive experiences from movies and games in real spaces.
Three elements of spatial innovation that bring people together:
Story (Narrative), Space,
and Play
Thinking about the games and movies mentioned earlier,
the core is playing or watching exciting stories (Narrative).
What if genuine space is combined with this?
What if you could enjoy experiences that you used to enjoy only at home in various spaces, and not just indoors but also outdoors?
What if stories unfold according to my choices and movements like in games?
What if you could enjoy it together rather than alone?
Then you could turn the entire city into a giant game playground, a movie set.
What's needed here is interactive immersive technology. Rather than just reading informational text attached to walls and passing by, what if spaces could have conversations with me? What if smartphones in our hands could induce actions in spaces? If interesting immersive technologies are added to enable game or movie-like experiences, you can enjoy much more immersive experiences.
CEO Song presents successful cases where he realized this proposal in various spaces.
Turning an ordinary building in Seongsu-dong into a landmark visited by 100,000 people annually
CEO Song transformed an ordinary building space on Yeonmujang-gil in Seongsu-dong with a 'Mystery Hotel' concept and created various Realworld experience content that can be enjoyed there.
As a result, this place became a landmark visited by 100,000 people annually - the unique experience space called 'Realworld Seongsu.'
This space offers content where you can enjoy various games from treasure hunt-type games to love, SF, horror, and crime scene themes.
Many people are gathered together, but they're all enjoying their own individual games.
In other words, it shows spatial innovation where it's a collective space but people enjoy individual experiences.
Even when people crowd in, there's no boring sight of people just standing still.
Through the interactive content solution Realworld, they even provide English, Japanese, and Chinese versions of content.
Therefore, various foreigners visit this place, and it's becoming a popular destination for school trips for both domestic and international visitors.
You can feel how people are enjoying themselves just from the photos, right?
It's not just this place.
Various spaces that want to attract people are incorporating Realworld-type content to create bustling places.
The sight of everyone actively immersing themselves and enjoying becomes advertising in itself, achieving continuous visits.
Most importantly, from the player's perspective, exciting experiences enjoyed in ordinary daily spaces are very attractive.
Turning the entire city into a theme park
Realworld is now establishing itself as a representative leisure activity in cities.
There are interesting games prepared in various places throughout Korea including Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Jeju, and you can even enjoy them overseas.
They're creating cases showing that if a region and space have stories, even if it's old or underdeveloped, it can be attractive.
During the recent Jamboree incident, British scouts needed content that thousands could experience at once.
Because Realworld had created <Lost Soldier> at the War Memorial, there was no problem even when over 1,200 scouts flocked there.
Seeing the scouts staring intently and immersing themselves in exhibition spaces they would normally just pass by, even the UN Forces Deputy Commander visited and exclaimed 'Absolutely, This team and This app is great!'
He also presented various regional cases and suggested possibilities for turning entire cities into exciting adventure theme parks where special and unique experiences unfold, and people can enjoy together instead of alone.
In other words, as a solution for a Playable City. Isn't it amazing?
CEO Song quoted Shakespeare's words 'All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players' and declared that 'The city is a giant playground and we are all players.' That future has reached us now, and the urban experience will be completely transformed.
Additionally, Cornell University Dean Mijin Yoon introduced architecture and design that can embed 'meaning' in public spaces and enable participation together.
Naver Design & Marketing General Manager Sohyun Choi spoke about design that can coexist with people and the future in various spaces Naver has created.
Seoul Metropolitan Government Design Policy Director Ingyu Choi presented various strategies and blueprints for new vitality in Seoul as an attractive special city!
A fantastic time where we could meet the future of Humanizing, Embracing, Playing City,
the Seoul International Design Forum.
New paths are always difficult to explain and persuade, but this was a precious time that reminded us again that people who meet that path gather one by one, becoming thousands, rivers, and oceans.
The transition From a Boring City into the Playable City.
If you want to meet scenes where entire cities become theme parks, connecting, buzzing, and overflowing, please pay attention to the speakers of the Seoul International Design Forum, especially CEO Song's story!
Thank you!
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