KIDP Strives to Make Korea a Design Powerhouse

Promotes national competitiveness and quality of life

Technology can have beauty, and new values can be added to all industries ― the jobs that design can do. Design is recognized not just as an essential factor to determine corporate success, but also to raise the national competitive edge in such areas as culture and industry.
The Korea Institute of Design Promotion (KIDP), led by President and CEO Kim Hyun-tai, is striving to raise public awareness toward design's roles and make Korea a design powerhouse.
KIDP was established in 1970 as an institution under the umbrella of the predecessor of the Ministry of Knowledge Economy (MKE) with the goal of enhancing the nation's industrial competiveness and the quality of people's lives. It has a vision of evolving into a total design service provider beloved by the people.
Among the tasks the KIDP undertakes, it first performs basic research, and research and policy development on design. The institution is charged with basic research on design and statistical surveys and other demand-oriented research on design and the development of policies that cannot be easily handled by the private sector.
Secondly, KIDP is putting its heart and soul into scouting for and nurturing world-class designers. It strives to foster gifted designers with creativity and problem-solving capability and to pick up design leaders working in Korea and abroad to cultivate the talented, world-class designers companies are looking for.
Thirdly, KIDP supports Korean designers'entry into the global market. The institution provides support for Korean designers'international activities as it co-certifies with major foreign countries via the Good Design market and provides support to Korean companies and designers wanting to enter foreign markets.
Fourthly, KIDP endeavors to spread design culture. It holds various design-related exhibitions and spearheads the general public's proliferation of design culture so that our surrounding environment can be turned into a beautiful world by design. nw

KIDP President and CEO Kim Hyun-tai.