Apple to open 5th store in Korea this week

Apple Inc.‘s fifth retail store in Gangnam, southern Seoul [Photo provided by Apple]

U.S. tech giant Apple Inc. will open its fifth retail store in Korea in the trendy and fast-moving district of Gangnam in southern Seoul on Friday as it seeks to boost its presence in South Korea.

The opening of “Apple Gangnam” is drawing attention as Apple has been gearing up to attract more Korean consumers to its services. The company is hoping to raise the sales of its iPhones on the back of the Apple Pay contactless payment service that became available last week.

Apple Gangnam is slightly smaller in size than the largest store in Myeongdong in central Seoul. It features a newly designed pickup area and a uniquely designed double-height façade with a completely new gradient frit.

Apple’s spatial audio with dynamic head tracking offers multidimensional sound and quality that appears to come from all around. Apple will open a pop-up studio from April 1 where visitors will be able to listen to NewJeans music. It will open an audio session every Friday and Saturday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. and play the Apple Music Edition of NewJeans’ single “OMG.”

Patrick Schuerpf, director of Apple’s retail business in Asia, said that the company is thrilled to deepen its relationship with the local customers by opening up another retail location in Korea.

Apple Gangnam will have 150 employees and offer shopping, technical support and training experiences.

Apple, in the meantime, has become more active in opening new stores in Korea.

Apple opened its first retail store in Korea in Garosugil, southern Seoul, in 2018. It took about three years before the second store opened in Yeouido, but from thereafter, the new stores opened every six months.

Apple is expected to open a new retail store in Hongdae this year, raising the number of stores in Seoul to six, which is more than that of five in Tokyo in Japan.