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Learn in Busan, Build Your Future in Busan: Busan Design School Launches Its Second Cohort

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Busan Metropolitan City, led by Mayor Chun Jae-soo, and Design Council Busan announced that they have completed the selection of participating companies and young designers for the Busan Design School program, which aims to enhance the competitiveness of the regional design industry while supporting young designers in building their careers and settling in Busan. The program will now move forward with its full-scale training curriculum.

Busan Design School is designed for unemployed young designers in the region, combining world-class online advanced education with hands-on internships at design companies to cultivate practice-oriented design professionals who are ready to enter the workforce immediately. The initiative also aims to address the talent shortage faced by local design companies while encouraging young professionals to establish their careers in the region.

Following a screening process conducted from May through June, Busan Metropolitan City and Design Council Busan selected seven promising design-driven companies and 13 young designers who will participate in company internships as part of the 2026 program.

Compared with the four participating companies in 2025, the number has expanded to seven this year, providing more young designers with opportunities for workplace-centered practical training and employment connections. Through this expansion, the city plans to further strengthen an education-to-employment system in which local design companies and young professionals grow together.

The selected participating companies are Green Joy Co., Ltd., LiveX Co., Ltd., Social Bean Co., Ltd., Slash B Slash Co., Ltd., OR Studio Co., Ltd., Onggolchan Saramdeul Co., Ltd., and Ilju G&S Co., Ltd.

The selected young designers will acquire the latest design capabilities through world-class online design courses offered via Coursera while gaining practical experience through company-specific projects and expert mentoring.

Participants will also engage in actual corporate projects and receive six months of workplace-centered practical training. Upon completion of the program, active employment matching with participating companies will be provided to support stable employment and long-term settlement for talented young professionals in the region.

The first Busan Design School cohort, launched in 2025, has already demonstrated the program's effectiveness, with participating young designers completing company internships and subsequently being hired as full-time employees by participating companies, where they continue to work.

Through this initiative, Busan Metropolitan City aims to provide young people with quality employment opportunities and career development while supplying local companies with industry-ready design talent. The city will continue building a sustainable talent ecosystem that creates a virtuous cycle of design workforce development and further strengthens the competitiveness of Busan's design industry.

Moon Jeong-ju, Head of the Future Design Headquarters, said, "Busan Design School is a practice-oriented talent development program that enhances the professional capabilities of young designers through company internships and employment connections while supporting them in building their careers and settling in the region. We will continue expanding a wide range of support programs that connect local companies with young professionals to create more jobs, encourage regional settlement, and reinforce the competitiveness of Busan's design industry."