为生活而设计

Designers in South Korea are creating new spaces for the country's changing population. At the Seoul Living Design Fair there’s everything for the young urban couple, as well as families, the elderly and the growing number of single people.

Seoul is carving out a niche as a cultural and tech capital, and now its furniture design is going global.

The Seoul Living Design Fair opens with a range of ideas for the new modern Korean home - from male singletons to a family of four - from childless couples to grandparents.

Home-maker Kim Hee-Sun said, "I’m here to see some trends, and just for fun. I get some ideas for decorating my house or making something with my children."

Student, You Woo-sang, is one of South Korea’s growing numbers of single men living alone. He says it’s a great place for ideas.

You Woo-sang said, "It was good to see different furniture and some ways to display things."

A large portion of the fair is taken up with exhibits for those living alone.

According to a Statistics Korea report, single households will increase sharply in South Korea in forthcoming years because it has one of the world’s lowest birthrates.

It is expected that single households will account for 34.3 percent of all families by 2035, up from 23.9 percent in 2010.

Design director Kim Han-gyu has come up with a simple design for a single sofa bed suitable for a studio flat and one-room apartment.

Kim Han-gyu said, "We designed the bed for single households living in a studio flat or one-room apartment. It can be used as both a sofa and bed where people can take a nap."

The Seoul Living Fair began in 1994 and is an annual event. It involves around 150 design companies.