Korean department stores attract young shoppers with pop-ups

(Lotte Department Store)

South Korea’s major department stores are increasingly hosting unique pop-up events to draw young shoppers.

According to industry sources on Sunday, intellectual property (IP) content pop-ups at The Hyundai Seoul this year attracted more than 2,000 visitors per day on average, or more than double the foot traffic typically seen at fashion brand pop-ups, which average around 1,000 visitors daily.

IP content pop-ups showcase popular media such as comics, animation, online cartoons, and character merchandise.

These events have gained traction among highly engaged fans, whose enthusiasm is credited with driving their success.

The trend is also boosting in-store spending.

At The Hyundai Seoul, more than 70 percent of customers who shopped at IP-themed pop-up stores went on to make additional purchases in food or fashion sections.

By expanding offerings tied to animation and character IP, department stores are attracting a younger generation of shoppers and gaining new growth momentum.

One standout event was the Jump Shop pop-up held at The Hyundai Seoul in February, which generated over 500 million won ($365,297) in sales within a week, placing it among the top-performing pop-ups of the year.

The event drew high demand, with the online reservation system closing early due to heavy traffic and on-site lines reaching 4,000 visitors per day.

The pop-up featured licensed goods and interactive content based on popular manga series published by Japan’s Jump magazine from Shueisha.

Another success was the character pop-up featuring Dyu Ganadi, a puppy emoji character from the messaging app KakaoTalk. The event drew large numbers of younger fans, with the first 1,000 entries each day filled by early morning.

Lotte Department Store has hosted a Pokémon pop-up for three consecutive years, expanding the event to its Jamsil flagship store in eastern Seoul this year.

As a result, revenue doubled from the previous year, surpassing 4 billion won. The Pokémon Town event, held in and around the Jamsil area, including Seokchon Lake, recorded 4 million cumulative visitors over 25 days.

In March, Lotte World Mall hosted a pop-up celebrating the second anniversary of virtual pop band Plave, attracting over 25,000 online pre-registrations. In May, the first Korean pop-up for the Japanese anime “Monster No.8” launched at Time Villas in Suwon, with long queues forming on opening day.

Shinsegae Department Store also joined the trend with a 75th-anniversary Peanuts pop-up in April and May, which drew 25,000 visitors in 12 days.

A separate event celebrating the release of a new “Lilo & Stitch” film at its Gangnam branch attracted 15,000 visitors.