Busan hosts 2026 International Busan Design Award ceremony

The Busan city government and the Busan Design Promotion Agency held the 2026 International Busan Design Award (IBDA) ceremony Thursday afternoon at Hall 2 of BEXCO. The IBDA carries on the tradition of the Busan Industrial Design Exhibition, which ran from 1981 to 2018, and this year marks the eighth edition under its current name.

A total of 1,706 entries from 35 countries were submitted this year. The competition expanded to seven categories, adding Busan Urban Public Design to the existing fields of service design, product design, environmental design, craft design, fashion design and communication design.

Entries were accepted from January through April across an open division, a student division and an invited and recommended designer division. Following online and in-person judging rounds, 13 teams in the open division and 14 teams in the youth division received main prizes.

In the open division, the grand prize went to the team of Lee Eui-jun and Lee Seung-jun, while the gold prize went to Seo Ga-eun and the team of Jeong Da-hyeon and Lee Eun-ji. Silver prizes went to the team of Lee Min-jae and Kang Na-hee, Han Ju-yeon, Gyeong Na-hyeon, and the team of Lee Han-na and Kim Yu-jin. Bronze prizes went to the team of Qiu Qi, An Qi, Huang Chuhan and Cui Runfeng; the team of Park Min-jun, Kim Min-jae, Lee Tae-chan and Jo Chan-hee; the team of Eom Jeong-hyeon and Kim Si-eun; Kim Su-yeon; Kim Yu-jin; and the team of Kim Da-gyeong, An Ye-rin and Kwon Na-hyeon.

In the youth division, Lee A-yun took the grand prize, while Wong Hoi Lam and Choi Hyeon-jun received gold prizes. Silver prizes went to Lee Seung-jun, Lee Yun-jeong, Yun Ji-min and Jo A-in, while bronze prizes went to Song Min-seo, Park Seo-in, Kim Hwan-jin, Seong Chae-bin, Gu Yeon-u, Bhum and Kang Jin-gyeong.

Grand prize winners in the open division receive 20 million won (about $13,100), with total prize money across all categories amounting to 56.7 million won. Winners also receive professional consulting and design application support for intellectual property protection. Corporate winners earn bonus points when applying for Busan Design Promotion Agency business support programs and may use the IBDA certification mark.