'Dinga-dong No. 1' by Professor Sunjung Lee of the Space & Environment Lab, Department of Space & Cultural Design, Graduate School of Techno Design, Kookmin University, won the private sector grand prize at the 2024 Korea Spatial Welfare Awards.

The Korea Spatial Welfare Award was launched in 2019, co-hosted by the Dong-A Ilbo and Channel A, and sponsored by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The event plays an important role in revitalizing the concept of spatial welfare to realize a happy daily life for the people by solving local problems through space. This year was the first year that the private sector was added to the local government category, and Professor Lee was honored to receive the first grand prize for 'Dingadong 1,' which was completed in November 2020 after design consulting, basic design, implementation design review, and design supervision.

Dingadong 1(1) presented a new concept of 'youth-only space' in 2020, when youth community spaces were rare. Professor Lee developed a participatory design method for youth community spaces based on her experience in school improvement projects at the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, and actively reflected the true needs of youth, parents, and teachers in the space design.

“Dinga-dong 1, the first community space for youth in Jungnang-gu, opened on November 26, 2020, amidst the difficulties of COVID-19. Since then, it has been very impressive to see the youth who use the space actively using each floor of Dingadong 1, choosing each floor according to their own behavior and needs. Dingadong 1, which is valued for its high utilization, is a significant result as a space designer in that it successfully led a space design method based on the free behavior and psychology of children without defining the space by function. In addition, the answer to the sustainability of the space, which was one of the important things in the initial stage of setting the overall direction of the project, was solved through the intervention of the space operation by the youth as the user subject, and the news that it is now being realized and operated as 'Dinga Ilby' and 'Dinga Cultural Planning Group' through the constant efforts of the operators of Dinga-dong 1, is a great implication for the sustainability of public space design. This direction also seems to be a good example of what role public space design can play when it has the direction of spatial welfare. As a spatial designer, I think it was a great opportunity to experience space branding in public space design through Dingadong 1, as I was able to create a new direction for a community space dedicated to youth and complete not only the spatial design but also details such as naming and signage by traveling to and from the site. We look forward to creating community spaces for youth like Dingadong 1, where children can play freely and healthily, not only in Jungnang-gu but also in other parts of Korea.” said.

Dingadong 1 opened in 2020 and has since expanded to five locations in Jungnang-gu.