ddp design fair

As an artist, one of the most common questions I get asked about my work is "Why do you work with tradition?". Maybe it's because it's not the norm, or maybe it's because they think, "Why work with tradition when there's something better?” Unless you're God, creation is about making something that already exists look new. If there is nothing, we can't create. Therefore, it is a natural act of creation to look at the past and use it as a material. Even leading overseas designers look to other countries' traditions to create something new, so I think we should start with our own. Personally, I find the most attractive traditional furniture to be the soban. Its distinct differences from tables in other cultures, its distinct regional distinctions such as gaksang (one person, one table) or for seating, and najuban, yongyeongban, haejuban, etc. make me feel more than just the beauty of its form.

At a time when plastic is being criticized more than ever, why did I have to design a soban (table) made of plastic? The answer is not that plastic is bad, but that it is badly used. It is impossible for us to live without using plastic. We need to reduce the bad use, which is easy to use and throw away, and make it something that can be cherished and used for a long time. If plastic doesn't decay for 500 years, it can be passed down for 500 years. The RE:SOBAN pictured here is made from a recycled plastic called LET ZERO and contains no other material than recycled plastic, so it can be recycled 100% when discarded. Its KNOCK-DOWN design reduces its volume to one-third of its size for transportation. The traditional item of the soban is no longer stuck in the past, but has become a “tradition of the future”, reflecting the current times.

Single-use plastic containers are a prime example of bad material use. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I saw a lot of delivery meal containers piling up every day, so I thought I'd suggest a better way to use them. It uses the same material and manufacturing method as a disposable container, but it can be used sparingly and for a long time. As a designer, I think it is better to use eco-friendly materials and make them last longer than to recycle them.

How to make something last for a long time is not only about durability, but the aesthetics, such as with the roof of a hanok, aesthetics is an important factor that makes people value it. It is necessary to have value both when used and when not used.  Exploring our past in this way can make us feel guilty for not appreciating it, like picking ripe fruit without permission. The guilty pleasure is that the easy source of creation is so close that we can't see it.