Tomasz Wadowski
Transparent OLED screen in platform doors? Sounds like science fiction, but it's already a reality – and at Yeouido subway station in Seoul. LG Display has just installed 32 Transparent OLED panels, becoming the first company in the world to introduce such technology in urban public transport. And the effect? Out of this world.
Map of the underground, communications and advertisements – now on one screen!
The new panels are not just a gadget – they are a functional tool. They display a new, refreshed underground map after 40 years, show real-time info about services, safety warnings, and even evacuation instructions. Instead of staring at the ceiling or bumping into a pillar with a poster – passengers see everything here and now, looking at the transparent doors.
Something more than glass. Transparent OLED can actually make a difference
Traditional glass in platform doors has one task: to give you a view of the approaching train. Transparent OLED does the same – but in the process turns dead space into an interactive screen. It is lightweight, thin, and so transparent that it can easily replace ordinary glass. And at the same time – it acts as a digital notice board, map, and billboard all in one.
Let's not kid ourselves – classic posters in the underground have long ceased to have an effect on us. But dynamic images on transparent doors? It grabs attention, and literally. LG is opening new possibilities for advertisers – and it doesn’t even require extra space. The technology thrives where there was previously emptiness.
Seoul, China, Japan… and beyond?
Although Yeouido takes the title of "the first in the world," the Transparent OLED from LG Display has already appeared, among others, in the GTX-A trains in Korea, as well as in the subways of Beijing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Chongqing and JR East trains in Japan. Everywhere it provides the same: a sense of space, transparency and an informational boost.
Automotive? Aviation? Retail? Architecture? The Transparent OLED starts in the subway but has ambitions to change the way we perceive dead spaces – it could literally be the most important design element.
In summary: The Transparent OLED from LG is a solid step into the future of urban transport. We see more, we know more – and all of this without losing transparency.
