Hyundai Motor's "Marine Forest" Conservation Campaign Wins Seoul Design Award

"Nameless Forest" Campaign
ESG Design Impact Award
Creating Social and Environmental Value

Hyundai Motor's "Nameless Forest" campaign, which promotes the conservation of marine forests, has been recognized for creating social and environmental value through design.

Key visual for Hyundai Motor's Nameless Forest campaign. Hyundai Motor

Hyundai Motor announced on October 15 that its Nameless Forest campaign had won the ESG Design Impact Award at the Seoul Design Award 2026, held on October 14.

The Seoul Design Award is an international design competition that highlights sustainable design fostering harmony among people, society and the environment. It has become a platform for sharing design cases and insights that put the value of coexistence into practice.

New this year, the ESG Design Impact Award is presented to corporate projects that contribute to creating social and environmental value, following recommendations from experts in design and ESG. Hyundai Motor was highly regarded for fulfilling its social responsibility as a global company through long-running environmental and social contribution activities, and for using the Nameless Forest campaign to broaden awareness and discussion around the need to conserve marine forests worldwide.

In 2023, Hyundai Motor signed the "Business Agreement on Blue Carbon Cooperation for Marine Forests" with the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and the Korea Fisheries Resources Agency. As part of its ongoing conservation work, it created marine forests covering a total of 3.96 square kilometers in two coastal areas of Ulsan in 2024. As part of these efforts, the company launched the Nameless Forest project in May this year in collaboration with partners from the public sector, academia and civil society.

In Korea, the project gave the marine forest established in Jujeon-dong, Dong-gu, Ulsan, the name "Ullim Marine Forest," in collaboration with the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and the Korea Fisheries Resources Agency. With the cooperation of Ulleung County, the "Tonggumi Natural Marine Forest" on Ulleungdo was also given a name.

In Argentina, the company worked with local marine NGOs and community groups to name a marine forest "Auken Aiken." In Australia, it worked with local marine experts and communities to select candidate names for a marine forest, then held a global public vote and chose "Yanggaa" as the final name. Auken Aiken and Yanggaa mean "place of life" and "crayfish," respectively, in the languages of local Indigenous peoples.

From left, Seoul Mayor Oh Sehoon and Ji Seongwon, vice president of Hyundai Motor's Brand Marketing Division, pose for a commemorative photo after Hyundai Motor's Name-less Forest campaign won the ESG Design Impact Award. Hyundai Motor

All of these marine forests have been listed on Google Maps and KakaoMap, encouraging public interest and participation in marine forest conservation and laying the groundwork for ongoing efforts to protect marine ecosystems.

The Nameless Forest campaign will be on display at the DDP Design Roundabout from October 14 to 25, during Seoul Design Week, showcasing the campaign's journey and its message about conserving marine ecosystems.

Ji Seongwon, vice president of Hyundai Motor's Brand Marketing Division, said, "This award is meaningful because it recognizes how the Nameless Forest campaign has communicated the value of marine forests in a way that resonates with the public and broadened the need to conserve marine ecosystems into a topic of social discussion. Guided by our vision of 'Progress for Humanity,' we will continue to do what is right for society and communities and pursue initiatives that contribute to a sustainable future through technology and creativity."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.