Korea’s traditional soban, a small low table, will be presented in new forms at Milan Design Week, one of the world’s largest design events.
The Seoul Design Foundation said Monday it will stage an international exhibition, “Seoul Life 2026 Milan: Heritage Reimagined, Soban,” from April 20 to May 10 at Italy’s ADI Design Museum.
The project is hosted and organized by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Design Foundation, with cooperation from the ADI Design Museum. It aims to introduce “Seoul lifestyle and design identity” by combining the soban — a symbol of Korea’s traditional everyday culture — with contemporary design.
The soban reflects Korea’s floor-seating tradition and single-diner table culture. Its low, portable structure, balanced proportions and curved legs are presented as distinctive features of Korean furniture design shaped by that lifestyle.
Seventeen designers and teams from Korea and abroad are taking part, each reinterpreting the soban in their own design language. The works combine Korean craft techniques with contemporary technologies such as 3D printing and AI-based design, the foundation said.
Participants include Korean designer Kim Jinsik of Studio JINSIK KIM, known internationally for work emphasizing minimal forms and material qualities; Korean designer Son Donghoon of Atelier SOHN, whose designs combine function and form through experiments with materials and structure; and Andy&Jong, a Korean-French design duo focused on human-scale work including furniture and lighting based on spatial experience.
They are joined by global designers including Italian designer Stefano Giovannoni of Giovannoni Design Studio, known for signature products for Alessi; Italian designer Anna Gili of Anna Gili Design Studio, who gained international recognition through collaborations with Cassina and Alessi; and French architect Odile Decq of Studio Odile Decq, who has won the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale.
The exhibition space is inspired by the daecheongmaru, the open wooden hall of a traditional Korean house. A long platform structure is placed at the center so visitors can move through the gallery as if walking along a wooden floor while viewing the works. Soban products reflecting “Seoul Color,” described as expressing the city’s identity, will also be shown.
The works presented in Milan will later be added to the DDP collection, with a follow-up exhibition planned in Seoul within the year, the foundation said.
“This exhibition shows how Seoul’s daily life and culture — and traditional and contemporary design — can meet through the traditional soban,” said Seoul Design Foundation CEO Cha Kang-hee.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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