Design to Make Seoul a Global City

For Seoul City, design is leverage not only to upgrade its appearance but also innovate its administration.

And Chung Kyung-won, the chief design officer at the Seoul Metropolitan Government, is the man who is leading the drive to make the capital truly global.

Inaugurated on 1 June 2009, Chung is now busy trying to make his mark on the city's cosmetic initiative, dubbed Design Seoul.

His resume would appear to suggest he is suitably qualified: He is also a professor in the Department of Industrial Design at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and has participated in Seoul's design affairs as an outside committee member for the last two years.

Design is one of the major projects initiated by Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon to make the city a charming global city.

It is Chung's job to ensure projects are coordinated effectively.

"Design is a shortcut to become a global city and the mayor knew it," he said.

To realise the dream, Oh launched the Design Seoul Headquarters in May 2007.

Since then it has been spearheading the capital's facelift, carrying out efforts to remold city scenery and support the design industry.