February 2025
Step into a crowded side street in Seoul neighborhoods like Seongsu and Gangnam, and you may be surprised by what you find. People are lined up to buy uniquely packaged products, check out exhibitions and participate in all kinds of DIY activities. This exciting and exotic sight is all part of Korea’s pop-up craze.
Writer. Sung Ji Yeon
Illustrator. RYUGOON
A pop-up store generally refers to a promotional store set up in a corner of a department store or supermarket to sell products. Pop-up stores of this sort first arrived in Korea in the early 2010s. Later, pop-up stores were adopted as a sales outlet by holders of intellectual property, such as cartoon characters. But Korea has put its own stamp on the pop-up concept.
Today, Korea’s pop-up stores are more than mere sales outlets. They’ve turned into experience zones that serve up a feast for the ears and the eyes. Customers now visit pop-up stores to view exhibitions, learn about brand philosophy, make their own merchandise and snag limited-edition products.
What are the reasons behind the development of Korea’s pop-up stores? Ironically enough, the immediate cause of Korea’s pop-up stores taking on their current form was the pandemic. That is to say, pop-up stores adapted to the needs of the market, companies and customers produced by the pandemic.
As commercial activity was thrown into chaos by the pandemic, the market needed something to substitute for permanent stores. Since online shopping had become more prevalent than ever before, companies interested in offline sales were obliged to find a strategy that could differentiate them from online sales while also helping to build their brand and improve their image. Simply put, the market and companies were in need of outlets that would be easy to open and close, while also capable of providing content only available offline.
Koreans who consume this kind of content tend to be in their 20s and 30s. That’s a demographic with a number of distinctive characteristics: they value scarcity, demand that their purchases be entertaining and satisfying, defy attempts to analyze their purchasing patterns and have little loyalty for particular brands. Because of those qualities, customers in this demographic are on the lookout for unique content they can really dig into, and crave the chance to experience that content before the masses.
Under such circumstances, pop-up stores were a perfect fit for the market, companies and individuals. Pop-up stores’ business schedule can be adjusted from as short as a couple of days to as long as a month. From the corporate perspective, pop-up stores are an effective and cost-efficient method for promoting their brand. The very brevity of pop-up stores’ operations creates content scarcity, which helps scratch that itch for customers. For the market, pop-up stores serve to occupy commercial spaces left vacant by the pandemic and make those spaces profitable again. That was the hat trick pulled off by Korea’s pop-up stores. Content creators and customers have sustained that trend for the past four years, making adjustments and improvements according to changes in the market.
Before we dive into the freshness and diversity of Korea’s pop-up stores, let’s bear in mind that there are no limits on the type of companies that open pop-up stores and the types of products they offer. As we’ve already seen, pop-up stores serve as an effective method for companies to bring attention not only to their products, but to the brand itself. They can also create loyal customers. That’s why today’s pop-up stores not only promote conventional products such as cosmetics, food, literature, webtoons, TV dramas, furniture and stationery, but are also being organized by local governments and public enterprises. On top of that, pop-up stores are regularly used by social media influencers and K-pop idols seeking to promote their latest album or campaign.
The concepts around which pop-up stores are oriented are as diverse as the groups organizing them. For example, one food company that launched fruit-flavored gummies opened a pop-up store in a local marketplace and placed the gummies in fruit baskets, mimicking the appearance of an actual fruit store. One producer of alcohol organized a pop-up store inspired by an amusement park to promote a newly released product. Cameras were set up so that visitors could photograph themselves from various angles, catering to young people’s fondness for taking and posting selfies. The pop-up store also included a video arcade, in line with the amusement park theme. Festive snacks such as cheese puffs and churros were also provided with the company’s products. There are plenty of other original ideas. One brand specializing in everyday items held a DIY program that allowed visitors to decorate their own tumblers. In another promotion by an underwear brand, customers could exchange their old underwear for new items from the brand.
Korea’s pop-up stores are about more than simply selling products. Their concepts are adjusted according to the products on sale and diverse programs are planned to help visitors fully appreciate the concepts. Plus, pop-ups keep getting bigger. Instead of a single brand opening a single store, a recent trend has multiple brands renting out a massive space to throw what might be called a pop-up festival. That illustrates how Korea’s pop-up culture continues to change.
Pop-up stores have become a form of recreation for Koreans. As such, foreign visitors are encouraged to include them on their travel itinerary. Pop-ups offer plenty of things to see for solo visitors; even better, they typically don’t charge for admission. Another advantage is that pop-up stores are often clustered together. So after visiting one store, it’s easy to hop on over to see what other brands have on offer.
If you want to check out a pop-up store, you’ll have to hear about it first—which isn’t always easy since they’re not open for long. The following tips are worth a try. First, make sure you follow the social media accounts of brands you’re interested in. There’s no faster way to hear about pop-up store openings. Second, follow accounts that aggregate information about pop-ups. Those accounts are easily found by searching social media or search engines for the tags “pop-up” and “Korea.” Finally, before visiting a pop-up store, check to see whether reservations are allowed. A reservation can help you avoid a long lines. The brand’s social media account or website may have a link to an online platform where you can make a reservation.
