What to Know About the 25th Seoul Design Festival in 2026
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0Summary
The 25th Seoul Design Festival runs November 26th through 29th, 2026 in Hall A at COEX. Designhouse established the festival in 2002, and the Young Designer Promotion program also dates to the event’s earliest years.
The 2026 theme, commercial exhibitor roster, and Young Designer participant list have not yet been published. Standard on-site admission is KRW 15,000, and the festival currently lists blind early-bird tickets at KRW 9,000.
Reflection Questions
Which parts of contemporary Korean design would you most like to research once the final exhibitor list is available? Are there specific categories, studios, materials, or manufacturing resources that would expand the sources you currently use for interiors?
How might the Young Designer Promotion program introduce work before it reaches wider international distribution? Once the selected designers are published, compare their practices with Korean studios or brands you already follow.
Journal Prompt
Review the Korean designers and brands already familiar to your firm and identify gaps in your current research. After Seoul Design Festival publishes its complete 2026 directory, compare the participants with that list and note the studios, products, materials, or disciplines you want to investigate further.
Come back to those notes after the festival and record which designers have representation or distribution outside Korea. That additional research can help distinguish resources that are immediately accessible from those that may require direct relationships with a studio or manufacturer.
The 25th Seoul Design Festival runs from November 26th through 29th, 2026 at COEX in Seoul. The exhibition will occupy Hall A on the first floor, with hours from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Ticketing and admission end one hour before closing.
Designhouse founded Seoul Design Festival in 2002, drawing on the editorial work and design-industry network associated with Monthly Design, which has been published since 1976. The festival was established around designer promotion and the development of connections among designers, brands, and the broader design industry.
As of August 30th, the organizer has not published the 2026 theme or final exhibitor directory. The official event page specifically identifies the theme as forthcoming, while applications for commercial exhibitors continue through September 30th.
Not to Be Confused with SDF, Frieze Seoul Takes Place at COEX This Week
Frieze Seoul runs next week from September 2nd through 5th, 2026 at COEX. The two events are separate: Frieze Seoul is an international contemporary and modern art fair, while Seoul Design Festival focuses on designers, design brands, and the broader design industry.
The fifth edition of Frieze Seoul brings together more than 125 galleries from 30 countries. The fair occupies Halls C and D on the third floor of COEX and takes place alongside Kiaf SEOUL, which uses Halls A and B on the first floor. September 2nd is reserved for invited guests only. Public admission begins on September 3rd and continues through September 5th. Frieze Seoul tickets also provide access to Kiaf SEOUL.
The 25th Edition of Seoul Design Festival Will Use COEX Hall A
Seoul Design Festival returns to COEX this November but changes halls from last year. The 2025 edition occupied Hall C, while the 2026 festival will use Hall A. COEX identifies Hall A as a first-floor exhibition space measuring 10,368 square meters.
The 2026 festival also runs for four days rather than the five-day schedule used in 2025. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday close at 6:30 p.m.; Sunday closes at 5 p.m. These dates and hours are already published on the official 2026 event and visitor pages. We encourage you to explore highlights from last year’s festival below.
Commercial Exhibitor Applications Continue Through September
The Design Brand application category is open to professional designers and design companies working in graphic design, product design, fashion, beauty, craft, and new media. Design-related educational institutions, media organizations, lifestyle companies, and companies that produce goods or services for designers may also apply. These are eligibility categories, not a confirmed description of the final November exhibitor roster.
Applications remain open through September 30th. International exhibitors are currently quoted $2,800 per booth for raw space or $3,300 for a shell scheme, with a $500 per-booth overseas discount. The final participant directory can therefore change considerably before November.
Young Designer Promotion Reaches Its 25th Edition
The Young Designer Promotion program began in 2002 and returns as part of the festival’s 25th edition. The current Korean program page identifies freelancers, university and graduate students, designers developing self-branded businesses, and newer design businesses among those eligible for the 2026 program.
Selected participants receive access to a specially priced individual booth at KRW 1.6 million before VAT, compared with the stated regular price of KRW 3.3 million. Additional support includes networking and seminar invitations, mentor programming, editorial coverage through Monthly Design, profile photography, and eligibility for the 2026 Korea Design Awards programs.
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Four Mentors Are Confirmed for 2026
The mentor group includes Soonman Kwon, founder of zerosixfour and creative director at Ilkwang Lightings; Jiyeon Choi, CEO of CAVA Life; artist and designer Kwangho Lee; and Myunghwan Choi, editor-in-chief of Monthly Design. These are the mentors listed on the current Korean-language 2026 program page.
The Young Designer page also states that two designers selected as Best Young Designers can receive support for participation in the 2027 Boisbuchet design and architecture workshop, including program and accommodation costs. The organizer has not yet published the final roster of Young Designer participants for the November festival.
More Than 88,000 People Attended in 2025
The 24th Seoul Design Festival recorded 88,371 visitors from November 12th through 16th, 2025. That edition took place in Hall C at COEX and used Wayfinding as its main theme. Designhouse organized the event, and Monthly Design managed it.
Those numbers provide context for the event’s recent scale, but they should not be interpreted as a 2026 attendance forecast. This year’s festival changes both its duration and exhibition hall, and the organizer has not published a projected visitor total.
But the 2026 Theme and Final Program Are Still Pending
The official 2026 event page currently lists the exhibition theme as to be announced. The final Design Brand roster, Young Designer participant list, and detailed exhibition programming are also unavailable at this stage.
Previous editions included programs across commercial design, emerging designers, specialist studios, and projects throughout Seoul, but those older programs should not be treated as confirmed parts of the 2026 festival. The organizer’s archive is valuable for historical research, while the 2026 page is the appropriate source for the current event.
Tickets Currently Start at KRW 9,000
The standard on-site admission price is KRW 15,000. The festival currently lists a blind early-bird ticket at KRW 9,000, while information for a second early-bird period and group purchases has not yet been released.
Ticket buyers complete advance registration before activating a QR code for admission. The festival takes place at COEX in Gangnam, one of Seoul’s principal exhibition and convention complexes, and Hall A is located on the first floor.
Written by the DesignDash Editorial Team
Our contributors include experienced designers, firm owners, design writers, and other industry professionals. If you’re interested in submitting your work or collaborating, please reach out to our Editor-in-Chief at editor@designdash.com.
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