Seocho District's Smoke Ventilation Smoking Facility Wins Presidential Award at Korea Public Design Awards

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on September 4 that, together with the Korea Craft & Design Foundation (KCDF), it has selected the Seoul Seocho District Office's public service project, "From Aversion and Conflict to Understanding and Coexistence: Creating a New Smoking Culture Through Technology and Design," as the Presidential Award winner of the '2025 Korea Public Design Awards.' This project proposes ways for smokers and non-smokers to coexist.

The Korea Public Design Awards recognize outstanding projects that best reflect the value of public design, taking into account sustainability and ripple effects. This year, 12 projects and 3 research studies were selected, with one Presidential Award, four Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Awards, one Victor Margolin Award, five KCDF President’s Awards, and four Academic Society President’s Awards presented. New categories introduced this year include the 'Contribution to Public Design' field for private companies and the Academic Society President’s Award for public design-related academic societies.

The open-type smoke ventilation facility, which won the Presidential Award, is part of a public service project that Seocho District has been steadily implementing since 2022 to ease conflicts between smokers and non-smokers and create a healthier urban environment. In addition to existing separation policies, such as designating smoking and non-smoking zones and providing location guidance via QR codes, the project was highly rated for offering a public design solution that addresses the main sources of conflict-smoke and odor-between smokers and non-smokers, enabling coexistence.

Seoul Seocho District Office Open-Type Smoke Ventilation Facility Selected as the Presidential Award Winner in the '2025 Korea Public Design Awards'
Photo by Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism

In the project category for the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Award, the following were selected: the Siheung Industrial Complex Sewage Treatment Plant Cultural Regeneration Project (Siheung City Hall and three others); the "First Independence Day Attire" campaign (Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, Binggrae, and one other); and the Transparent OLED Donation Kiosk Voluntary Sharing Culture Campaign (Happybean Foundation and five others). In the research category, the award goes to "A Study on Establishing Design Guidelines Considering Privacy and User Experience in Public Places" (Kwangmin Cho, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology Department of Industrial Design, and three others).

The KCDF President’s Award in the project category will be given to the following: Ulsan Smart Bus Stop 31109 (Ulsan Metropolitan City Hall); Four-Season Anti-Slip Carbon Heating Mat Staircase Installation (Seongnam City Hall); the National Asia Culture Center (ACC) accessibility enhancement exhibition "Others Dwell Within Our Bodies" (National Asia Culture Center and eight others); and the Onyang Hot Spring Old Town Crime Prevention Environmental Design Development (Asan City Hall and two others). In the research category, the award goes to "Social Contribution in Developing Countries Through the Design Thinking Approach: A Theoretical Argument for a Human-Centered Approach" (Hasun Lee, Ewha Womans University Convergence Design Research Institute).

The Victor Margolin Award, a special prize in the research category, will be given to "A Study on Future Public Design Scenarios Utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI)" (Yoonsun Shim, Inha University Department of Design Convergence). The newly established Academic Society President’s Award will be presented to the following projects: "Creating Picnic Pools for All" (Seoul Metropolitan Government and one other); "Public Design for Enhanced Everyday Safety" (Yongin City Hall and one other); "Bespoke Library: A New Form of Public Space Assembled with Standard Materials" (Gwangju Metropolitan City Mudeung Library and one other); and "Safety Guideline Design Based on the Nudge Effect" (Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., Ltd. and one other).

The award ceremony will be held on October 24 as the opening event of the "Public Design Festival 2025" at Co-Society Seoul Forest, where commendations will also be presented to local government officials who have contributed to the promotion of public design. In addition, the award-winning works will be exhibited at Co-Society Seoul Forest from October 24 to 26. Further details can be found on the Public Design Integrated Information System.