Designer City Guide: Seoul

Words by: Tanya Singh and Wonseok Choi


Creative Director and CEO at Filament & Co. and Project Rent, Wonseok Choi talks about his favorite spots in the fast-transforming city of Seoul. 


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The Creative Director and CEO at Filament & Co. and Project Rent, Wonseok Choi has a degree in industrial design from the Hong Kong University. He has worked with LG Electronics as well as Hyundai Cars, before starting his own consulting studio. Filament & Co. offers consulting services on all aspects of design for products, brands, and businesses. The company conceptualizes ideas, products, branding, as well as interior spaces.

"Design is not just making things arbitrarily beautiful but creating them with intention. At least from the business point of view, it means many different things. Design has values when it speaks to people and meets their expectations. It should have an aesthetically attractive and motivating form in addition to an economic value that makes people want to experience and own it. Furthermore, design should address the values that help benefit the community, environment, or society. It is the content of design and how you tell the story that makes a lasting impact," Choi shared.

Choi talked to us about some of his favorite spots in Seoul that are quintessentially Asian, including his own rental space for pop-up shops, Project Rent. 


Seoul City Guide_02 Photo credit: Wonseok Choi


PROJECT RENT

"Project Rent, our pop-up store rental platform designed to unearth and introduce small but valuable stories, located in the Seongsu neighborhood reflect the diversity and energy of the evolving culture in Seoul.

Our work at Filament involves consulting on all aspects of design for a product, brand, or business. We design ideas, products, graphics, and interior space, and develop business branding and strategies. We experiment our ideas at Project Rent, a pop-up space for rent. It is a place for unique experiences, a place to tell stories of what is forgotten or lost, a place to connect business with people.

Project Rent has been very successful in conveying the stories of small, young, local businesses. The neighboring shops and business owners appreciate our work and our growing presence throughout Seongsu, as we attract more people which helps their businesses too. Our biggest consumers as well as renters are the MZ generation (Millennials and Gen Z) that are looking for opportunities to grow and learn. We are currently home to Ghana Chocolate, the Lotte original cholate bar that has been around for many years.

Back in the day when I first started working, I used to look through lifestyle magazines to find the interesting things happening in town. Today, Seongsu is the magazine where you come to witness the growing creativity and local culture."

3F Project Rent, 69, Seongsui-ro, Seongdong-gu, Seoul 


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Photo credit: Wonseok Choi


ONJIUM

"Onjium is a one-table restaurant that introduces traditional cuisines from different parts of Korea. It specializes in utilizing local ingredients and the traditional ways of preparation and cooking.

They only offer one seasonal course menu, which features a long list of dishes. Each dish is full of complex texture and flavor and is described in detail in the menu. Each ingredient has its own property when fresh. Going through preparation of drying, marinating and/or pickling over a period of time creates another layer of texture and flavor. Then, cooking adds more complexity. All these layers of flavor blend in perfectly in your mouth. The whole experience is worth the wait, once you get your reservation confirmed.

Onjium is trying to revive the Korean culinary culture that has been lost and disappearing. Sponsored by the Arumjigi Foundation, they conduct research with old documents and by visiting different regions to discover family recipes and ingredients specific to their origin. This fascinates me as it relates to my work of telling stories.

During my visit to Onjium, I learned that there once were 1,425 breeds of rice throughout Korea and every household had their unique rice wine making recipe. It is very hard to find such a cultural experience these days."

49 4, Hyoja-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul 


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Photo credit: Hyeonjin Cho


SEOUL FOREST

"Seoul Forest is an oasis that makes you slow down as you enter. It is a haven full of trees and shrubs punctuated with bicycle tracts, water features, animal farms, lots of resting and sporting spaces, and cafes nearby for refreshment. It is situated in the middle of the Seongsu area, making it a great spot for both visitors and residents to get some respite.

The Han River, Namsan, and Seoul Forest, among many other natural spaces, are the jewels of our city. They are what make Seoul special."

273, Ttukseom-ro, Seongdong-gu, Seoul