Ewa Kumlin, recently moved back to Sweden after five years as Director of the Swedish Institute in Paris and Cultural Counselor of the Swedish Embassy in France. Before this she served for fourteen years as the Managing Director of Svensk Form a membership society commissioned by the Government to promote Swedish Design nationally and internationally. She now resumes her own company for cultural production, Ewa A Kumlin AB. Ewa Kumlin studied at the Royal College of Arts in Stockholm to become a Fine Arts Teacher, after a few years with the Foreign Ministry. She also has been writing articles for Swedish art and design magazines and published a book on her family story. Member of the board of the Scandinavia-Japan Sasakawa Foundation, and since 2017 the chairman of the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm (Kungliga Konsthögskolan)

PPetra Lilja is an industrial designer who dedicates her career to critically examining the role of the designer in a world where a lot of the problems we're facing, like climate change, poverty and inequity, can be traced back to design decisions. She divides her time between her design studio and her academic work as design lecturer, researcher and board member of the managing team for the Design+Change Program at Linnaeus University, Southern Sweden

Tor Lindstrand is an architect and head of the Master’s Program in Spatial Design at Konstfack, University College of Arts and Craft, in Stockholm. His practice oscillates between architecture, art and performance in numerous cultural contexts with projects presented in institutions like the Tate, Liverpool, Venice Architecture Biennale 2008, 2010 and 2014, Steirischer Herbst, Shenzhen and Hong Kong Bi-city Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture, and more. He is on the board of Eva Bonniers donationsnämnd (a foundation that promotes public discourse on the rold of art and architecture and undertakes art projects), an expert for the Swedish Art Grants Committee, on the jury for Ung Svensk Form (Young Swedish Design) and architecture critic at FORM magazine.

Magdalena is driven by a passion for the transformative impact of design on well-being, particularly within the home environment. After graduating with a master's diploma in Architecture and Urban Planning, she embarked on a dynamic career journey. After working as an architect in Poland and China, in 2010 Magdalena embraced IKEA's vision of creating better everyday life for many people, leading her to the IKEA career spanning Ireland, over a decade in Japan, and Austria. In 2024, Magdalena moved to South Korea, following her passion for East Asian cultures.

Swoo K. Suh is a Professor of Environmental Design in College of Art & Design at Sookmyung Women’s University since 2000 and her study is focused in interior architecture, emotional design & human interaction. Currently she is the executive director of SMU Design Institute as well as Executive Board Member of KIDP. She was the former Vice President of External Affairs and a Chief Executive Director of International Affairs & Cooperation at Sookmyung. She has been well recognized globally in the field of interior design as she was the first Asian to be appointed as the Secretary General at IFI/Int’l Federation of Interior Architects & Designers from 2004-2008 and also served as a Secretary General at Asia Interior Design Institutes Alliance when it first founded in 2000.

Hwasung Yoo founded BYMARS in Stockhom in 2010. The studio produces its own objects and works broadly across furniture, lighting and product design, with much of its work centred on the decontextualisation of existing objects. Hwasung Yoo has exhibited both domestically and internationally. In Sweden, his work has been displayed at Stockholm Furniture Fair’s Greenhouse, and at Formex. He has exhibited in Milan’s Spazio Rossana Orlandi, Le Lieu du Design in Paris, and the Korea Foundation in Seoul. And he has been chosen as the ‘Next Generation Design Leaders’ in 2011 by KIDP in Korea and his work has been awarded as ‘UNG8’ in 2010 which is juried Swedish young design by Svensk form (Swedish form/design institution). Recently he is working for a lighting brand AGO in Korea as a co-founder and a Creative director.

Junggi Sung has been a creative director since 2014s in Daylight San Francisco, Seoul, and Munich. Prior to that, he was a concept designer for IDEO Boston and a product designer for LUNAR San Francisco. Junggi Sung won the first prize at the Porsche International Competition in the U.S., the gold prize at the OPUS International Competition in Japan, the gold prize at the LG Electronics International Competition in Korea.He also won three gold awards at the German IF Award, one gold prize and two Silver prizes at the IDEA in U.S. and two Best of the Best awards at Germany. In 2003, he won the Presidential Award for 21st Century Talent in the Design category from the Korean government, and in 2021, at the invitation of the Seoul Design Foundation, he held a personal exhibition at the Seoul DDP, and some of the exhibited works are permanently owned by the Seoul Design Museum. In 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2012 he was selected as the next-generation design leader by the KIDP and served as the general director of product development at the Seoul Design Foundation in 2021. Since 2019, he has been appointed as a judge for the product part and product UX part of the German IF Award.

Beom Kwan Kim is a professor at the College of Design and Architecture, Ulsan University. He is also an architect and designer based between London and Korea. He studied at the AA School in London, where he received his Diploma in 2012 with Honors. Kwan has worked in London on various projects at different scales, ranging from high-end residential to master plan schemes. His expertise was gained through collaboration with firms such as Squire and Partners, Serie architects, Atmos Studio, Urban Systems, Zahadid Architects, and RSHP in London. In addition to his architectural background, Kwan has studied Industrial Design and worked as a product designer. He was honored with the 21st Century's Talented Person Award by the Korean President, as well as receiving the Prime Minister's Award, K Design Award, Asia Design Prize, and Korea Wood Design Awards. His research and career in architecture and design are actively continuing in Korea. Currently, he is researching and developing architectural design materials and creating various experimental architectural design works.

Doohyun Cho currently serves as Executve Managing Director at the Korea Institute of Design Promotion (KIDP), and he was the head of management support division, KIDP China, global business division at KIDP since 2012.