SEOUL -- Seoul City will commemorate the birthday of its landmark "Dongdaemun Design Plaza" through a four-day festival scheduled to kick off on March 21. The visitor-centric event will encourage participation from visitors through various types of attractions such as elaborate photo zones and special tour programs that will guide visitors to hidden areas normally closed to the public.
Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) is one of the capital city's landmarks that is located near the central Seoul area. The gargantuan building boasts a futuristic exterior that consists of curving forms of elongated structures designed by Zaha Hadid, the late Iraqi-British architect, designer, and artist who was a major figure in the global architecture scene.
DDP was built in the area where Seoul's Dongdaemun Stadium used to sit. The Stadium which was built in 1925 was recognized as South Korea's iconic sports stadium, but it was torn down in 2007 as part of Seoul City's renovation project that was aimed to turn the stadium into a public area that can serve as a park and exhibition center.
Since its opening on March 21, 2014, DDP has become Seoulites' main venue for indoor and outdoor exhibitions including seasonal festivals and the end-of-the-year countdown show. DDP also played a vital role in accelerating South Korea's fashion industry by becoming a popular spot for fashion shows and photoshoots for K-pop artists.
In 2023, more than 13 million people visited the Seoul design landmark even though South Korea had just opened up its borders after a three-year-long lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Total sales of 16.6 billion won ($12.4 million) were raised and recorded an annual self-sufficiency rate of 105.9 percent.
The Seoul Design Foundation, the operator of DDP managed by the capital city, said that "DDP Special Tour" programs will be provided starting March 21 until March 24. Tour participants will be guided by professional curators to explore DDP's hidden areas during the daytime and after sunset. A special red carpet runway zone will be set up in the main corridor known as the "Cave Stairs" to create photo zones for visitors.
Other than the red carpet Cave Stairs, DDP will prepare special photo zones featuring mega-sized objects. Huge sculptures of cakes, spoons, and plates will become playful selfie photo zones for young visitors.
Digital gifts will be given out to selected visitors of DDP's website. Limited edition non-fungible tokens (NFTs), created by popular South Korean designers, will be distributed to one thousand people. An NFT is a digitalized token registered to an unhackable blockchain network. Each token has a unique authentication code that represents digital content or physical objects that actually exist.
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