Moving Beyond Tradition - Sketching a Path for the Structural Limitations of Korean Design Identity -

In this paper, we examine the meaning of the term 'tradition' and its effect and interpretation within Korean design, and how the limitations of its accustomed effects can be subverted so that diverse paths can be opened up for future Korean design identity. Our analysis proceeds by means of the Greimasian semiotic square, a method for mapping a logical opposition and its consequences. We plot our square by opposing Korean tradition to global modernity and examining subsequent contradictions and syntheses. We find that the founding opposition serves to define a range of positions that either affirm, deny or efface Korean tradition as a vector of design identity, resulting in a 'logical closure' that ultimately limits the breadth of the possible expressions of the concept of Koreanness. From the analysis, we propose four strategies for moving beyond this logical closure, each of which render the opposition between Korean tradition and global modernity irrelevant. Rather than a limitation, it proves to offer a wealth of diverse possibilities for future design identity.