Park Seung-jun, a student in the Department of AI Design at Kookmin University (President Jeong Seung-ryeol), received an Honorable Mention at the “DBEW Award 2026,” an international design competition. The winning work is the AI-based robotic installation *Thousand and One Hands, Thousand and One Eyes*, which reinterprets the concept of the Thousand-Armed and Thousand-Eyed Guanyin Bodhisattva—a traditional symbol of compassion—within the context of contemporary technological civilization.

The DBEW Award, with the slogan “Design Beyond East and West,” is an international design award co-hosted by Kookmin University and the ADI Design Museum in Milan, Italy. It has garnered attention for its unique approach of highlighting the collaborative achievements of students and educators. Despite being held for the first time this year, the competition received over 800 entries from 44 countries worldwide.

Park Seung-jun’s *Cheonilsucheonilan*, which received an Honorable Mention, is an installation that reinterprets the concept of Avalokitesvara’s “Thousand Hands and Thousand Eyes” through AI and robotics. The work weaves together the audience’s wishes and voices, weather data, and collective signals from social media into a single algorithm, which is then realized as drawings created by a robotic arm. Through this, it questions whether technology can transcend its role as a mere tool for efficiency to become a medium of modern compassion that responds to invisible emotions, relationships, pain, and aspirations.

Student Park Seung-jun stated, “I have always believed that design is more than just creating function and form; it is a medium that proposes new ways for humans to perceive the world and connect with others.” He added, “I began this project not by treating AI and robotics technology as mere objects of demonstration, but by viewing them as a language that expands the human mind and social sensibilities.” He continued, “I viewed the DBEW Award as an opportunity to present experiments that combine technology, art, and social messages within an international context,” adding, “It is meaningful to see, through this award, what possibilities and questions this work can open up within contemporary design.”

This project was developed through Capstone Design I and II, a one-year program in the Department of AI Design at Kookmin University. It was conducted in a manner where students set their own research topics and interests and deepened their long-term projects based on one-on-one guidance from their advisors. Student Park Seung-jun worked with his advisor, Professor Heo Junghyun, to refine the work from March to September of last year.

Professor Heo Junghyun guided the student in organizing the various ideas he developed into a feasible structure and ensured that the work’s concept and technical implementation were organically intertwined. In particular, the project went beyond merely solving technical problems; the team continuously examined why a specific technology was necessary within the work and how it should connect to the message, thereby enhancing the work’s overall quality. Through this guidance process, *Cheonilsucheonilan* was able to take shape not as a simple technical demonstration, but as an installation that reinterprets traditional narrative within a modern technological environment.

Finally, student Park Seung-jun shared his reflections, stating, “Through this project, I learned that art is not about presenting a finished product, but rather a process of holding onto a single question for a long time and realizing it to the very end through the forms of matter, technology, movement, and space.” He added, “Going forward, I want to continue creating work that explores how humans relate to the world, without being bound by specific technologies or media.”