Official poster for Gwangju Design Biennale 2025 (Gwangju Metropolitan Government)

By Koh Hyunjeong

This year's Gwangju Design Biennale will open on Aug. 30.

The Gwangju Metropolitan Government said the event will run through Nov. 2 at the Gwangju Biennale Exhibition Hall under the title "You, the World: How Design Embraces Humanity."

With the theme "Inclusive Design," this year's expo will spotlight the social role of design beyond aesthetic and functional dimensions to recognize individual differences and seek methods of coexistence. Slated for display are works by 429 designers and 84 institutes from 19 countries including the U.S., Japan and the U.K.

The artistic director of the event is Choi Sooshin, a professor at Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia, and a first-generation industrial designer of Korea. The exhibition has four sections on the following themes: world, life, mobility and future.

The world section features examples of inclusive design from around the globe. That on life displays designs that anyone can conveniently and safely use in daily life.

The mobility section stresses the improvement of mobility and accessibility, while that on future shows the convergence of cutting-edge technology and design.

The opening ceremony is slated for Aug. 29 at 6 p.m. on the special stage of Gwangju Biennale Square.

More information is available on the event's official website (https://www.gdb.or.kr/content/intro).

hjkoh@korea.kr