ABSTRACT
Throughout the development of design, as design has expanded widely beyond Western societies, relatively limited knowledge from non-Western cultures has been explored. Both for having an inclusive understanding of design and for turning a monologue into an interactive dialogue, different cultural perspectives need to be embraced. Thus, looking at four cases in diverse design subfields from South Korea, this study projects the possibility of incorporating a perspective from East Asian culture. Although the traditional approach to design is centralised on ‘things’, human-centredness has recently challenged this perspective. Through the lens of Korean culture, more contemporary discussions on design, including activism, decolonisation and postanthropocentrism, are an effort to recognise hidden or forgotten relationships in design beyond thing- and human-centred design, that is, relationship-centred design. In the context of South Korea, the ways in which the relationship is considered in relation to design are introduced for initiating more active conversations between cultures. The chapter concludes with suggestions for future studies and implications for the field.
