Reconstructing the Content and Context of the KBS Special Feature “The World Is in an Era of Design Revolution”(1983)

Background The KBS special feature “The World Is in an Era of Design Revolution”, which aired in 1983, had a great impact on not only the design field but also society by covering the topic of industrial design, which was unfamiliar to the public at the time. This program is often mentioned when discussing South Korean modern design history, but it has not been the subject of full-scale research. Against this background, this study aims to examine the program. First, the details of the program are reconstructed, and the historical significance of the program is clarified by examining the changes in the industrial design field before and after the program aired. Methods This study chose video analysis and literature research as research methods. We analyzed the contents of the six parts of the program, approximately 330 minutes of video material, and we examined the changes in the concept of industrial design, corporate design, and design education at the time through literature research. Results The program explored the latest trends in corporate design, design firms, industrial design education, the sports industry, and shopping spaces in major industrialized countries from Parts 1 to 5. Part 6 examined the current state of domestic industrial design. After the program was aired, a series of changes occurred in the domestic industrial design field, including the establishment of design research institutes and competitions by large companies, the introduction of a good design selection system by the Korea Design Packaging Center, and the establishment of an industrial design department at an engineering university. Of course, identifying a clear causal relationship between the airing of the program and subsequent events is not easy. It is important to note that the concept of industrial design, the role of industrial designers, and the need for new design education emphasized by the program, were not completely new, but rather overlapped with the views and positions expressed by young public opinion leaders in the industrial design field in the early 1980s. The broadcasting of the program can certainly provide an important opportunity to change the public opinion of society by amplifying and spreading specific views and positions that had been confined to the design field.