Tucked away in the busy metropolis of Seoul is Chansingdong, a traditional textile quarter next to the ultra-modern Dongdaemun fashion retail district.  Small garment factories employ people who came to the city in their late teens and became highly skilled workers creating ready-to-wear garments for the mass market.  Project Seoul Apparel identifies the urgent issues facing the declining garment manufacturing business through a collaborative project between the UK and Korea as a part of the Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism curated by Stephanie Seungmin Kim and Isak Chung. 

The curators have worked with six practitioners, including fashion designers, architects and filmmakers,  from the UK and Korea to create works for an exhibition housed in a former factory space. Having explored manufacturing processes, ways of working and efficiency alongside other issues within the factories, the exhibition offers a series of propositions for a better future for the people and businesses of Changsindong. 

Commissioned by the British Council and the Royal College of Art for the Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism, this exhibition is the outcome of a residency undertaken by Royal College of Art graduates Marie Maisonneuve and Luke Stevens in collaboration with Korean practitioners  Seoyeon Cho, Kooyoung Han, Jieun Lee, Jongkwan Paik and Hee Young Jung.