Seoul Design Week 2026 opened Wednesday at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP), a landmark exhibition complex in central Seoul, showcasing designs that tackle social and environmental problems. The Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Design Foundation held the opening ceremony along with an awards ceremony for the Seoul Design Award 2026. Running under the theme “The Design Recipe,” the event continues through Oct. 25 at the plaza and across the city. About 250 people, including Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, designers and industry officials from Korea and abroad, attended the ceremony. Now in its seventh year, the Seoul Design Award honors designs that solve everyday social problems and bring sustainable change. This year’s award drew a record 1,204 projects from 91 countries, about 16 times the number entered in its first year. A jury of 36 design experts from 20 countries judged the entries, including Samsung Electronics Chief Design Officer Mauro Porcini and Andrea Cancellato, director of the ADI Design Museum in Milan. The top 10 finalists presented their projects on stage, and the