Digitising the Physical: The Evolving Role of Collaboration Tools in Citizen Participatory Design Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic in Seoul

This case study investigates how the digital transformation of urban design governance following the COVID-19 outbreak has led to changes in approaches to citizen participatory design in Seoul, South Korea. Drawing on empirical data from the Seoul Citizen Design Bureau – an annual participatory program initiated by the Seoul Metropolitan Government since 2015 – and interviews with facilitators and participants, the study ethnographically examines the emergence of new local design actors amid unforeseen circumstances like the pandemic. The research sheds light on the diverse capacities and intermediary roles of digital collaboration tools such as ZoomTM and MuralTM, which not only enabled citizen involvement in design during the pandemic but also challenged established practices in institution-driven participatory design in Korea. By contextualising this analysis within a turbulent historical juncture, the study demonstrates the effectiveness of remote ethnography in uncovering the influence of “more-than-humans” in participatory design within the unique sociocultural setting of South Korea.