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Busan Metropolitan City Completes 40 Projects Under This Year’s SME Design Development Support Program

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that it has completed 40 projects under the “SME Design Development Support Program,” which it has implemented this year to strengthen the design competitiveness of local SMEs and advance industrial development.

This year, the City focused on enhancing competitiveness by applying design to the products and services of outstanding SMEs, while fostering Busan’s strategic industries—such as marine leisure (culture and tourism) and silver care (bio-health)—into high value-added industries.

The City has implemented this program annually since 2022, and as of this year has completed design development projects for a cumulative total of 64 companies. The program has established itself as a practical model for advancing corporate products and services.

This year’s program was organized and operated under four categories:
▲ SME design development support
▲ Support for design-led growth in strategic industries
▲ Support for product and service development by design companies
▲ Youth designer collaboration design projects

Through a collaboration framework connecting SMEs, specialized design firms, and universities in Busan, the City produced tangible outcomes in commercialization.

The City selected three best design development cases and plans to expand support for these exemplary cases in the future, including enhanced assistance for product promotion and participation in exhibitions.

The three best design development cases are:
▲ Design development of a cosmetics manufacturing machine incorporating customer-centered robotics technology by “Creative Purse”
▲ Brand strengthening and product design development of a smokeless thermal therapy device for professional Korean medicine clinics by “Fable Design”
▲ Development of an assembly-and-experience type DIY music box kit based on motifs inspired by 20 tourist attractions in Busan by “Art Hands”

In particular, the “Youth Designer Collaboration Project,” launched for the first time this year, was operated as an industry–academia cooperation program in which student designers, companies, and public institutions jointly carried out practice-oriented design tasks. A total of 10 teams and 48 participants took part.

Key projects included:
▲ Development of an environment design guide (manual) for people with disabilities
▲ Branding and development of tourism products based on stories of Busan ajummas
▲ Renewal of a Samjin Eomuk gift set
▲ Renewal of Taeseongdang packaging design
▲ Design of Modi tourism souvenirs for barrier-free tourism
▲ Establishment of store identity for Samjin Eomuk
▲ Production of a promotional video on Busan’s liberation commemorating the 80th anniversary of liberation
▲ A proposal for inclusive cultural space design for the Busan local community, among others

In addition, the City strengthened the foundation for overseas expansion by supporting SMEs’ participation in international exhibitions.

The City supported two Busan companies (Lumena and Oneuk) in participating in the world-renowned design and interior exhibition Maison&Objet, held in Paris, France. Through this support, the companies conducted 51 consultations and secured contracts worth USD 200,000, thereby laying the groundwork for their entry into overseas markets.

Go Mi-jin, Director General of the Future Design Headquarters of Busan Metropolitan City, stated, “Design plays a key role in ensuring that SMEs’ technologies and ideas become competitive in the market,” adding, “We will continue to actively support the creation of high value-added local industries through design.”

She continued, “This program demonstrated a structure in which companies, industries, and the local community can grow together through design,” and added, “We will continue to upgrade our design support system so that it can lead to linkages with strategic industries and global expansion in the future.”