Design, Metal, and Adrenaline: A Visit to the Seoul Mobility Show 2023

Since 1995, the Seoul Mobility Show, formerly known as the Seoul Motor Show, has been held every two years. The show features hundreds of cars from scores of global manufacturers, gathering and fascinating thousands of visitors. However, the event has been through its fair share of challenges as unfortunately, the Seoul Mobility Show was no exception to the disastrous impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The Seoul Mobility Show managed to host an event in the middle of the pandemic in 2021 but with less than a third of the scale compared to the 2019 Seoul Motor Show. In addition, the event placed many restrictions on attendees, such as having disposable gloves on during the entire show, making it an underwhelming experience compared to past years. Now, with the COVID-19 contagion considered to be at an endemic period, was the Seoul Mobility Show able to revert back to its glory days, from the scale to the level of excitement? To find out all the continuities and changes, I visited Seoul Mobility Show 2023, held from March 31st to April 9th. For 2023, five major Korean car brands and five major foreign car brands participated in the Seoul Mobility Show, with an additional 150 small electric car (EV) companies and mobile technology companies, such as Alpha Motor and Korea Mobility.

The Seoul Mobility Show 2023 further focused on the term “mobility” by involving not only cars but also autonomous robots and Urban Air Mobility (UAM)—an electric flight vehicle capable of vertical takeoff and landing for city transportation services. At the show, automobile giant Hyundai showcased Boston Dynamics’ home robot appliances alongside their cars, and SKTelecom displayed an interactive UAM technology experience featuring a ride. Small electric car companies, such as DaeChang Motors and Masta Motors, displayed affordable EVs costing under ₩20 million KRW in hopes of expanding the market for electric automobiles in South Korea. Meanwhile, reputable car manufacturers, such as Porsche and Mercedes-Benz, showcased their classic and race cars alongside their most recent releases to highlight their heritage and brand image. 

The most spotlighted brand in the show was KG Mobility, formerly SsangYong Motors. KG Mobility displayed their entire production car lineup and concept cars in one of the largest booths in the front. This showcase holds significance for the brand, as SsangYong Motors underwent legal management twice, was involved in a deadly labor strike, and experienced multiple attempts of takeovers from other companies. KG Mobility mentioned that their presence at the Seoul Mobility Show was to emphasize the revival of a once-defunct brand and to further stimulate the Korean automobile industry. 

The Seoul Mobility Show 2023 had improved in terms of its lesser restrictive experience compared to the COVID days, increased hosting of world premieres, and widening the focus from passenger cars to other types of mobility on the road and in the air. The organizers’ efforts to make all participants thoroughly seen using careful layouts, events, and metaverse maps were notable. However, the lack of more car manufacturers not participating in this event still seems to be an issue as this does not appeal to fans of the Seoul Motor Show and automobile enthusiasts; those seeking to experience new technologies may be disappointed that most of the show is still about showcasing newly released cars. Despite the organizers’ announcement of radical changes for the “new mobility age,” the show’s highlights were still about new passenger cars from major car manufacturers, which resembles the Seoul Motor Show period before the pandemic. 

With the automobile industry’s traditional motor show disappointing car fans, fans hope that the Seoul Mobility Show goes further to diversify its lineup by doing more than merely promoting new cars. Currently, the event is fundamentally an auto show, with technologies and other means of transportation merely being included as additional elements. To live up to the name of “mobility show,” the Seoul Mobility Show should aim to be a place where people can expect more from transportation technology and its dynamic future, and not just put itself into the same old box of a shrunken car show.