Dear Korea CQ members,

I hope you are having a wonderful day.

On November 21th, Korea CQ had a lecture on ‘Why Design?' at the residence of the Indian Ambassador in Hannam-dong.

H.E. Vikram Doraiswami, Sangeeta Doraiswami, H.E. Bader Mohammad Ibrahim Al-Awadi, Young Hye Lee, Eugene Bang, Patrick Defranoux, Uloff Munster, Patricia Munster, Bill Miner, Lissa Miner, Hyung Taek Hong, Min Sun Park, Jake Kim, Haewon Park, Dongho Kang, Jungwha Choi, Didier Beltoise, and Nina Park attended this forum.

CQ members arrived on time and had time to catch up during the reception.

H.E. Vikram Doraiswami warmly welcomed CQ members with a warm welcoming speech. Before the lecture, CQ members enjoyed rich and delicious Indian course meal, specially prepared for CQ members by H.E Vikram Doraiswami.

After the dinner, the lecture by Young-hye Lee started.

Young Hye Lee, CEO of publishing company Designhouse, studied Applied Arts and Sciences at Hongik University and eventually acquired the company that she was working for. She launched more than 10 magazines including <Home Style & Living><Style H><My Wedding><Luxury><Mom & Enfant> and <Men’s Health>, and she published more than 500 books.

Young Hye Lee is also an exhibition planner who directs events such as Seoul Living Design Fair and Seoul Design Festival, as well as the current chairperson of the Seoul Metropolitan Museum of Art and the CEO of Nam June Paik Culture Foundation. She is constantly following her dream and belief that 'design changes the world.' 

In the lecture, Young Hye Lee talked about the paradigm of design, and the impact design has had on us. 

In the time of Louis XIV, sophisticated and meticulously crafted works were called ‘Craftsmanship’ before the term ‘Design’ came out. Hereafter, the industrial revolution took place and products followed the flow of mass production, cost reduction, standardization, and modernism.

After that, the paradigm of design began to change. Mass production resulted in manufacturing of a lot of ugly products. Therefore, many artists started a movement that believed function and art must be combined. For example, American architect Louise Sullivan said, "Form follows function.” For example, the submarine we know is shaped like a whale, and a helicopter resembles a dragonfly. In other words, you can see that the form of the item has the function that suits it.

An American industrial designer also said, "All forms follow emotions." Young Hye Lee said that emotion is more important in this age. This can be seen in computers - the old analogue monitors were black with a very large backside that was not aesthetically nor emotionally pleasing, but Macintosh appeared and it attracted people's attention with its candy-like colorful monitors.

Young Hye Lee emphasized that the change of paradigm also influenced design.  In the past, only a central character was important but today, each person can be a main character as it has undergone changes following economy of the hands and feet → the economy of the brain → the economy of the mind. In addition, while it was product marketing in the past, now design has the form of culture marketing.

Young Hye Lee asked of us "what are the people living in the age of 'Digit' missing?" Digit means fingers, and people in this age have said that they miss that something that slips through their fingers. Quoting the words, “making a difference is the source of creation,” Young Hye Lee said it was most important to express what I possess and what other people will take from what I have.

All members were absorbed in the interesting lecture by Young Hye Lee, having an active Q&A time after lecture.

At the end of the evening, Korea CQ members all took home special Indian Tea gifted by H.E. Vikram Doraiswami, and mini holiday sets of Caudalie prepared by Haewon Park, Country GM of Caudalie Korea. 

We deeply thank H.E. Vikram Doraiswami for his warm hospitality and delicious Indian foods, making it an unforgettable night for Korea CQ members. We would also like to thank all members who attended the forum.

We also give thanks to Young-hye Lee, the CEO of Design House for her informative lecture, and Nina Park for her interpretation help.

On December 7, Korea CQ will be holding the Korea CQ Winter Welcoming Alumni Gathering at the Grand Hyatt Seoul. We are looking forward to our members’ active participation.

Thank you again for your continued support.

Sincerely,

Korea CQ Yeabin Kong

*Q&A

Q. Didier Beltoise, President of Cs

With the 4th industrial revolution and digital progress being made, what is your perspective of the future of design?

A. Young Hye Lee, CEO of Designhouse

Digital development means it is possible to widely spread design at once. Overcoming frontier and boundaries, universal designs and design codes will become more important.

Q. Bill Miner, Country Chairman of Chevron

I understand you have an office in Jangchung-dong. If we were to visit your office, what kind of designs would we be able to see? Would it be like any other office, or is there a special touch?

A. Young Hye Lee, CEO of Designhouse

My office was originally an elementary school. The structure has many aisles, and it was a struggle to incorporate those aisles effectively to create my office today.

Q. Bill Miner, Country Chairman of Chevron

I’m also curious how often you might change the décor of your office and in your home.

A. Young Hye Lee, CEO of Designhouse

I don’t have much time to change my furniture and such, but I enjoy buying design products and craft works. I especially like Korean crafts and craftsmanship, and have great respect for them, such as, for example, items inlaid with mother-of-pearl. Koreans have very skilled hands, so you can find various types of crafts and artworks. So, I buy many of these and place them here and there in my office and home.

Q. Lissa Miner, Spouse of Country Chairman of Chevron

When you look at the design of an object which of the four qualities ‘universe, humanities, differentiation, and personalization’ pop up first to you?

A. Young Hye Lee, CEO of Designhouse

It is difficult to explain. You must practice. In my case, when I visit other countries in Europe or the USA and so on, I visit museums and sites and see many things. It is like practical training for me. Thanks to this training, I can know whether an item is fake, real, a parody, or an original work.

Q. Uloff Munster, General Manager Biopharma Division Korea of Merck

What makes a good designer a great designer?

A. Young Hye Lee, CEO of Designhouse

For example, there is Picasso’s ‘Guernica.’ Through ‘Guernica,’ Picasso showed the sufferings of war. I believe that a good design is just a good product, but great designs always combines social or national problems. A great designer is always concerned about issues and problems of the people, society, and the country, and through their concerns and thoughts, inspiration blossoms.

Q. Uloff Munster, General Manager Biopharma Division Korea of Merck

Could you give us another example?

A. Young Hye Lee, CEO of Designhouse

Earlier, I showed you ‘Carlton’ bookcase by Ettore Sottsass. He was 82 when he designed that bookcase. It was around 20-30 years ago, when the Italian furniture industry was in decline. Sottsass was very concerned about the industry, and through the ‘Carlton’ he announced to the young designers that “We are designers. We must lead.” Thanks to his activity at the time, the Italian furniture industry was able to turn around.

Q. Hyung Taek Hong, Secretary General of East Asia Foundation

Wouldn’t it cost a lot to make a product that is differentiated and personalized?

A. Young Hye Lee, CEO of Designhouse

I think that we no longer have ‘mediocre’ products. Products must be sold cheaply due to mass production, but on the other hand, they must be greatly upgraded by personalizing them. Of course, there are talented people who create personalized products at a low price, but generally, it is difficult for those two to coexist.