"It feels like every corner of Seongsu-dong has turned into a Roblox game world."
At about 2 p.m. on the 27th, Musinsa Megastore Seongsu in Seongdong-gu, Seoul. On one side of the store, where clothing was displayed, a space unfolded with a large Roblox logo and a game backdrop. The venue was packed as dozens of family groups lined up. Children took photos in front of their favorite characters or pointed to the displayed merchandise and begged their parents to buy it.
A person surnamed Kim, 43, said, "We came to have fun as a family vacation during our child's school break," and noted, "We plan to look around all the exhibits and make sure to take home every gift."
Roblox has been running an experiential popup, "My Life with Roblox," with the fashion platform Musinsa since the previous day. Roblox is a game and creation platform with 132 million daily active users worldwide. In Korea, it enjoys high popularity among children and teenagers and is also called the "elementary school president game."
This event is Roblox's first offline popup space in Seoul. It is being held at four stores, including Musinsa Megastore Seongsu, Musinsa Store Seongsu, Musinsa Standard Seongsu, and Musinsa Kicks Seongsu. A key feature is that visitors can walk around Seongsu-dong and enjoy different themed events at each store.
Musinsa Megastore Seongsu, the popup's hub, has been transformed into everyday places where gamers usually enjoy Roblox. A Roblox official said, "We designed the space with subway, convenience store, PC cafe, and study room concepts to give the feeling that you can play Roblox anywhere in daily life," adding, "We installed consoles, mobile phones, and laptops so visitors can try Roblox games themselves on multiple devices."
The most crowded spot was the booth that recreated a study room. After passing a warning sign reading "This is an absolute quiet zone," visitors entered the booth to find a mobile phone running Roblox placed on a single-person desk. Children stepped into the study room, leaving their guardians behind, and immersed themselves in the game. It created a subtle tension by staging a situation of secretly playing games while pretending to study.
After leaving the megastore and walking about five minutes, Musinsa Store Seongsu appeared. The store recreated the mood of a dark forest with the theme of Roblox's flagship mystery survival game, "99 Night in the Forest." On site, there was also a treasure-hunt-style experience using the game's universe. Visitors checked hints via a QR code and then searched the store for game-related items hidden throughout. To find the items, they moved through areas displaying clothing and shoes, naturally taking in the entire store.
At nearby Musinsa Standard Seongsu, a personality test using characters from the new game "Emotia Escape" was underway. Like an MBTI test, after answering several questions, it recommends an in-game character, an "Emotian," that most closely matches your tendencies. When the reporter answered five questions on a kiosk, the system recommended "Rostn," described as "an inquirer who digs to the end of what they're curious about." A boy surnamed Lee, 11, manipulated the device several times, asking, "What answers do I have to give to get this character?" when his desired character didn't appear.
At the last stop, Musinsa Kicks Seongsu, penguin characters from the game "Knockout" greeted visitors. Knockout is a game that applies the rules of flicking marbles, pushing opposing penguins off an ice floe. Not only children but also parents joined in, and sighs like "Ah, it fell off" were heard throughout.
At this popup, visitors can receive a stamp each time they complete a mission at a store. Collecting a certain number of stamps allows entry into a drawing for merchandise, and completing all missions earns a specially made package.
Although the venue is divided into four locations, all are clustered within about a 400-meter radius centered on Musinsa Megastore Seongsu, so the burden was light. Including travel between stores and experience time, one to two hours was enough to complete the full course. The popup is scheduled to run for about three weeks until Aug. 12.
Richard Chae, head of Roblox Korea, said, "This collaboration with Musinsa proves the boundless scalability of Roblox's universe when it meets offline reality after being loved in virtual spaces," and added, "We are pleased that the Seongsu-dong popup will further publicize our identity as a platform where people in their 20s and 30s enjoy and spend time together."