Cell phones and cars aren't the only Korean designs getting attention on the global market.

That was the message at the London Design Festival last month, attended by young Koreans
with cutting-edge, mind-warping work, such as a lamp made to look like a porcelain tea set.
One of the events at the festival, 100% Design London, is recognized as one of the three major design exhibitions in the world and is held at Earls Court. Another, Designersblock, displays more experimental designs.

A total of 11 Korean companies and 14 designers, including eight to receive support from the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, participated in 100% Design London this year. The London design exhibition is known for its tough reviews of its applicants.

At 100% Design London, Lee Seon-gyong, Kim Eun-young and Cha Il Gu were all on the shortlist for the Most Promising Talent award from Blueprint Magazine, an influential London design magazine. The judges were Vicky Richardson, editor of Blueprint, and Gareth Williams, a senior tutor at the Royal College of Art.

Cha ended up winning the award, for his simple and elegant radio. Appearing somewhat like a computer mouse, it had only two controls: volume and tuning. Cha was also selected as a "Next Generation Design Leader" by the Korea Institute of Design Promotion.

In recognition of these awards, Cha's products will be displayed at the main booth for free during next year's exhibition.

"My work has been given a huge promotional boost, as it has been introduced in Blueprint magazine and the Sunday Times," Cha said.

"And since it costs more than 5 million won [$4,300] to rent an exhibition booth, I'm really glad I'll have a booth in a nice location [for free]."

There was even a Korean designer invited by the event organizers. Chung Myeong-yong, a furniture designer working in Milan, Italy, said that he hadn't planned to participate in the design fair this year.

"But the judges who were at Milan Designersblock asked me to join the festival in London [as well]," Chung said.

Some of the Korean products exhibited during 100% Design London sold quickly.

Kim Hyun-been, also chosen as a Next Generation Design Leader by the Korea Institute of Design Promotion for her "DrinKlip" cup holder, was able to sell all 200 of the products she brought
on the first day of the festival.

Lee Seung-ho, who works in Finland, sold over 1,000 of his about:Blank notebooks, lined in white so that the Provided by designer Provided by designer, Another Ceramic lines do not scan or photocopy.

"A British hotel said they wanted to order the notebook as presents for their VIP guests," Lee said.

Products from Korean design studios and companies are also gaining wider popularity. The company Another Ceramic drew a huge crowd with its standing lamps made of porcelain. Saturn Bath also received high praise from other designers for its exquisite TV Tub, a bathtub with a television attached on the end.

"A foreigner told me that his preconception of Korea, as a country that only copies other people's designs, had been broken," said Lee Gyu-seon, who is currently studying textiles at the British Royal Academy of Arts.

"I'm really glad that Korean designers are participating more than they did a year ago, and their abilities are being recognized."

By Lee Ho-jeong
KOREA Magazine (Nov. 2009)