Dongdaemun Design Plaza동대문디자인플라자(DDP)

About

Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP), whose name stands for Dream, Design and Play, is a cultural complex in Dongdaemun, Seoul. Since opening on March 21, 2014, it has hosted major exhibitions, fashion shows, product launches, forums and conferences. It is divided into Art Hall, Museum, Design Lab, the DDP Design Museum, the Design Market, Eoullim Plaza and Dongdaemun History & Culture Park. Art Hall has hosted Seoul Fashion Week, MAMA (Mnet Asian Music Awards), a Van Cleef & Arpels exhibition and a BMW new car launch, and it is equipped with an international conference hall that doubles as a multipurpose banquet space. From Museum, which has hosted a BTS-themed exhibition and the Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism, to Design Lab, home to the citizens' lounge 'D-Sup' (opened in 2019 on the theme of a place where anyone can become a designer) and the DDP Design Store selling DDP souvenirs, the complex offers content that lives up to its scale and keeps visitors engaged. The Design Market, with its restaurants, bakery and cafés, also makes for a stroll that will more than satisfy families and couples looking to recharge. There's a good reason social media is flooded with night shots of Dongdaemun Design Plaza. Architect Zaha Hadid explained that in designing it, she 'focused on the dynamism of Dongdaemun, which changes without rest from early dawn until nightfall, and used a distinctive architectural language of curves and curved surfaces, diagonals and slopes to create a space where natural and man-made forms connect seamlessly.' At dusk, once the lights come on and you can focus entirely on the building, the dynamism of its curves truly shows. The best spot for night photos is the approach to Eoullim Plaza, where you can capture the grandeur of the interior and the atmosphere created by the building's mysterious materials. In front of the Design Lab doors, which separate Art Hall from Museum, the dazzling curves and lighting inside and out are at their most striking.