Second living room: The concept study of the EV 5 promises an airy and flexible appearance with portal doors and rotating seats on the level floor.
Image: Kia
Korea’s pop culture is an export hit. The country’s car manufacturers are well on the way to doing the same. Not only, but especially with their electric cars. Kia also relies on a fresh design philosophy.
This corner didn’t get its nickname as Seoul’s Brooklyn for nothing. Seongsu-dong is actually a classic industrial and working-class district, one warehouse follows the next. A few shoe factories, metal workshops and thick bundles of power cables between the roofs still characterize the streetscape, but there are new neighbors. Murals now adorn brick walls, residents exhibit their art in lofts, and robotic arms serve iced cappuccinos in the café next door. Industry and the digital economy, fallow land and luxury, old and young Seoul become one here.
Jochen Paesen thinks that Seongsu-dong is a perfect match for Kia. The neighborhood is a favorite of the Belgian native, who moved to the city three years ago when the Korean automaker offered him the job of senior interior designer. “This place is moving fast,” he says. The idea of constantly reinventing culture and economy is inscribed in the country and especially in Seoul.