Starting from late 2003, Design Korea has been held alternately at home and abroad with every other year. This Design Korea is not only an exhibition it is possible for everyone to visit, but also plays a role as a CeBIT Show of design field which supports business between design companies, corporations and designers.
Actually, in 2005 1,468 buyers from 25 countries visited this Design Korea. Thereby, business talks of 718 cases and contract conclusion of 178 cases were attained.
With a schedule over eight days from November 29th through December 6th this year, The Design Korea 2007 is composed of World Best Design Exchange, in which 18 institutions from 16 different countries will participate, the Design Korea 2007 International Conference, and the Convention on Design Promotion.
In special measure, world Good Design selection institutions such as Germany's IF, red-dot, and the United States' IDEA participate in it and worldwide design leading corporations like Pantone, LG Electronics, Samsung Electronics including England's Semour Powell and the United States' Designcontinuum, worldwide famous design-specialized companies, come in large numbers.
This year's Design Korea 2007 allowed to present and exhibit corporate design vision and design process, and successful examples of simple exhibition of participating company product among others. In addition, it was composed so that design publicity and corporate business support can be attained simultaneously by operating Business zone and Public zone separately.
Following 160,000 visitors in late 2005, The Design Korea 2007 aims to attract 180,000 visitors this year. What's more by inducing oversea big buyers for the sake of even strengthened international B2B exhibition, The Design Korea 2007 plans to concentrate its efforts on providing participating companies with more specialized business opportunities and outcome.
Alongside of this, this year's Design Korea 2007 International Conference is held by being divided into Design Management' and Public Design', worldwide issues, in which worldwide design experts and scholars of relevant field take part.
Korea design's today and tomorrow
Then, where are the present of our design, what is the problem at issue for our design business circles, and what will be a leap way for a design advanced country
Over the past 10 years our country has been gaining astonishing growth in the design field, but Korea's design capacity is no more than 80% level in comparison with design advanced countries such as the United States or England.
In a design capacity ranking of each country in the world announced by Designium, located at Helsinki as of 2005, our country was ranked as the 14th position. As of October 2007, approximately 2,500 design-specialized companies are active on the peninsula. In terms of design manpower which produces 38,000 designers yearly, Korea is a design power. It varies much according to types of industry and items; design promotion's industry infrastructure is very good for us as some of IT products including our cellular phone and LCD monitor, auto, toy and helmet spearhead design in world market.
As regarding the point at issue secondly, our country is losing competitiveness gradually in recent years between Japan and China. As a breakthrough to improve such a circumstance, Design' role argument is emerging.
In the case of England which unfolds national initiative-model design policy like us, design industry is being focused mainly in London, but many designers are developing brisk activities in other cities, in particular in Glasgow and Edinburgh.As of 2003, England's design industry shows turnover 11 trillion won (US$11.8 billion), a fee income of 7.8 trillion won (US$8.4 billion), Overseas Fee Income of 1.3 trillion won (US$1.4 billion). Major oversea markets are, in order, Europe (68%), North America (21%), and the others (11%).
England has come to consolidate its location as a worldwide design power via the Thatcher government's Design or Resign policy. However, in order for our design to become a design power like England, it is a reality that there are many mountains to go over.
First, design experts point out that despite continuous quantitative swelling, high-grade design manpower is short. Industrial circles demand specified designer by fields such as automotive, furniture and home appliances, but universities produce setform manpower like visual, textile and product design, thereby allowing to bear low employment rate. The second problem is the financial inferiority of design companies. According to MOCIE's 2005 design industry statistics, domestic design industry and turnover by companies are on the rise, but annual average turnover by companies is no more than 240 million won (US$258,000) and their employee 4.3 person level.
Lastly, China design's embezzlement damage, design culture which nurtures creative designer, and awareness improvement about designer education, are the problem at issue. Then, what will be a leap way to spring into a design advanced country Design experts insist: "To upgrade Korea design, design policy efficiency and consistency must be maintained by installing a National Design Committee, a pan-governmental policy organization for national strategy establishment and policy tuning between ministries."
In the second place, it is necessary to utilize profound design manpower through public design enlargement, enabling design new market and employment creation.
Last but not least, design must advance into Design Management' stage which is utilized as an important element of corporate management.
