Giving New Life to Waste Through Design: Seoul Upcycling Plaza Recruiting Tenant Companies
by Kim Heeyun
Published 27 Apr.2026 20:16(KST)
Seoul Design Foundation to Select 22 Upcycling Startups
Open to Prospective Entrepreneurs and Companies Less Than 7 Years Old
Up to 4 Years of Residency, Production, and Market Support
The Seoul Design Foundation announced on April 27 that it is recruiting tenants for the "2026 Seoul Upcycling Plaza" in order to support startups in the fields of resource circulation and carbon neutrality.
The recruitment targets are prospective entrepreneurs or companies established within the past seven years engaged in all areas of upcycling, such as commercialization of upcycling design, convergence based on upcycling, upcycling design-related platforms, and resource circulation. A total of 22 companies will be selected. Applications will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. on the 24th, and the final tenant companies will be chosen through a document review and in-person evaluation. Selected companies are expected to move in starting from the second half of 2026.
Tenant companies can stay at the Seoul Upcycling Plaza for a basic period of three years. Based on annual evaluations, they may extend their stay by one year at a time, up to a maximum of four years. The foundation will provide business infrastructure, including startup spaces with low rent, material sourcing, prototype production, and conference and filming spaces.
Seoul Upcycling Plaza is equipped with material workshops, a washing room, the Dream Factory, outdoor creative studios, conference rooms, and a photo studio. Tenant companies can utilize these facilities for product development, experimentation, content creation, and meetings. They can also access upcycling-specialized spaces such as the Material Bank.
Growth support programs will also be offered. The foundation plans to support tenant companies by facilitating participation in domestic exhibitions, collaborative projects, entrepreneurship capacity-building programs, tailored one-on-one expert coaching, and investor-invited demo days.
Located in Yongdap-dong, Seongdong-gu, Seoul Upcycling Plaza is a complex cultural space for upcycling design, visited by approximately 140,000 people annually, with about 20,000 participating in its educational programs. Starting in 2026, the plaza will transition to a single-agency management system overseeing the entire space, thereby strengthening its startup support and tenant assistance functions.
Kanghee Cha, CEO of the Seoul Design Foundation, stated, "Through Seoul Upcycling Plaza, we aim to establish a foundation where creative upcycling ideas can be developed into actual products, services, and brands, and expand the resource circulation industry ecosystem."
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