LONDON.- The Design Museum has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with The Seoul Design Foundation, becoming part of an international consortium of design institutions, which includes the Seoul Design Foundation, Cooper Hewitt, National Design Museum in New York, Vitra Design Museum, Frankfurt Museum of Applied Arts and Red Dot Design Museum in Germany, Taiwan Design Centre and Objeto Brazil.

The MOU is a global association of design institutions creating improved networks for communications, collaborations with touring exhibitions and learning programmes, promotional activities and development initiatives.

The partnership will create a direct link between the design capitals of London and Korea, with the Design Museum touring exhibitions to the Zaha Hadid designed Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul, Korea which will open in 2013. The Design Museum will also showcase Dongdaemun Design Plaza touring exhibitions and create shared learning opportunities.

Deyan Sudjic, Director of the Design Museum comments: “Korea has firmly established itself as a global design leader and the West has much to learn from its unique design approach. This partnership opens a window to new collaborations and opportunities with design institutes around the world, securing the Design Museums place on the global design stage as we prepare to move to our new premises in 2014.”

The Design Museum will relocate to new premises at the former Commonwealth Institute, Kensington in 2014.This new Design Museum with interiors designed by John Pawson will be three times the size of its current home and will create a showcase for its world-class collection, and greatly expand its education and public events programme. The new Design Museum will be a platform for promoting design as a national asset, and supporting the next generation of creative talent.