Gwangju City Appoints Kim Hyun-sun as General Director of the 9th Gwangju Design Biennale

Kim Hyun-sun, Chief Director of the 9th Gwangju Design Biennale

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 27th that Kim Hyun-sun (63, Associate Professor at Hongik University Graduate School of International Design) has been appointed as the general director of the 9th Gwangju Design Biennale.

Newly appointed General Director Kim Hyun-sun holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering and a Master's degree in Landscape Architecture from Seoul National University, and a Ph.D. in Formative Design and Fine Arts from Tokyo University of the Arts.

She is currently the president of the Korea Women Designers Association, known for her extensive domestic and international personal networks.

She is especially recognized for her rich practical experience in exhibitions such as the 2014 Paris Maison&Objet, the Korea-UK Friendship Exhibition, the Blue House Sarangchae curated exhibition, and the DMZ Project exhibition planning, and is evaluated as having excellent leadership, administrative skills, and political sensibility.

The city plans to begin full-scale preparations for the event, including selecting the theme for the 2021 Gwangju Design Biennale and establishing basic and execution plans, starting with the appointment of General Director Kim Hyun-sun.

General Director Kim Hyun-sun said, “Gwangju is leading the Fourth Industrial Revolution era with the artificial intelligence industry,” and added, “I will make the 2021 Design Biennale an evolving platform where new connections between design and humans centered on artificial intelligence are created.”

Lee Yong-seop, Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, said, “Design is a core competitiveness that increases the added value of industries and creates quality jobs,” and urged, “Please prepare carefully from the planning stage so that it becomes an opportunity for the international spread of the Korean Wave in design and the creation of business outcomes.”

Meanwhile, the 2021 Gwangju Design Biennale will be held from September 2 to October 31 next year at the Gwangju Biennale Exhibition Hall and other venues.