SEOUL | Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP)

Not many cities can pull off a building like the DDP, but the ever-so-modern Seoul can. Designed by Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid, and built over a former sports stadium the DDP is a massive spaceship-like structure that feels as if it was dropped in place by aliens. In places known for traditional architecture, a building like the DDP would feel completely out of context. In Seoul, a city where modernization happened swiftly as if over night — from hanok to high-rise in the short span of 50 years — it fits right in.

Described as a “neofuturistic” architect, Hadid’s designs frequently exhibit “powerful, curving forms,” “elongated structures” and “multiple perspective points and fragmented geometry to evoke the chaos of modern life.” The DDP’s design represents flowing water, symbolic of a place and a city in constant flux. 

No amount of looking at pictures could have accurately described what it felt like be immersed within the curves and angles; the light and shadows; the undulating walls; and vanishing points that seemed to lead to another realm.

We spent a good amount of our visit indoors browsing through all the beautiful design-focused gift shops, hurrying outside every now and then to take a photo or to experience the architecture from a different vantage point. Around each corner and curve lay a new view. At times it felt disorienting. Other times the swooping architecture made up of Suessian forms and Escher-like staircases exuded a curiously strange and wonderful playfulness.

Whatever your thoughts on modern architecture, or on this building in particular, one fact holds true: it is interesting.  And if the goal of art and architecture is to alter perspectives, invoke conversation, and question preconceived notions — of beauty, of architecture, of a simple staircase — then the DDP definitely checks all the boxes. I consider myself to be someone that supports the “form follows function” school of design thought and yet, dwarfed beneath a canopy of seemingly liquid metal it was hard not to be swept up by the perceived movement created by the soaring architecture. It has been a long time since a building has left me with a buzz, a nearly electric excitement. The DDP had a soul, a sense of purpose, and most importantly a voice and point of view.

Korea is a dichotomy of very old and very new. It is nostalgic and sentimental yet also eager and hopeful. Korean culture is deeply embedded in very traditional, sometimes extremely conservative, values, and yet Koreans also embrace the new, the latest, the ridiculous, the forward-thinking, the playful; the exciting, mind-bending, and surreal unknown. The latter is what I most love about living in Korea.

DETAILS

Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP)  | COST: Free to explore and shop, small fee for exhibits | DIRECTIONS: Get off at Dongdaemun History & Culture Park Station (Seoul Subway Line 2, 4 ,5) and Exit 1. DDP is immediately outside the subway. | DESCRIPTION: Part exhibit hall, part museum, part indoor/outdoor park, part sculptural architecture, part shopping, you can spend a good amount of time here. We were mostly interested in taking photos of the outside architecture but we ended up shopping at all the cute design-focused shops and picked up quite a few things. There are few places to grab coffee or a bite to eat inside, as well as a kid’s play area. At night you can also find a light exhibit/lit flower garden. | GOOD FOR: All ages, lovers of art/architecture, those seeking something to do on a cold or rainy day | VERDICT: Highly recommended. So far one of my favorite buildings/attractions I’ve visited in Seoul.