Hyundai Department Store said on the 14th it will run a popup store, "Edit Dept, Neo Local," on basement level one of The Hyundai Seoul.
According to Hyundai Department Store that day, the popup store will run from the 17th to the 30th. More than 20 local brands across fashion, beauty, living and food will take part. The space, designed as an exhibition-and-experience venue that showcases both products and stories from brands grown in their regions, will span 283.6 square meters (about 86 pyeong).
Representative participants include "Seoul street chairs" by artist So Dong-ho, which reinterprets Seoul's street chairs as handicrafts; "Kiim Studio," a handbag brand using Daegu's traditional quilting technique; "Luft Mansion," a lifestyle select shop on Haeridan-gil in Haeundae, Busan; and "Gotae," a tableware brand inspired by the curves of the traditional gat.
"Park Chanyong's Small House," run by Park Chanyong, a former fashion and lifestyle magazine editor, will also participate. It will present design goods created in collaboration with regional manufacturers, such as erasers by Hwarang Rubber in Daegu and nail clippers by Royal Metal Industry in Bucheon.
"NERD," a fermented liquor brand that reinterprets traditional liquor in a modern way, will hold a tasting event. "Dutch Lab," a premium brewing brand, will offer local coffee using beans from across the country at its store on basement level two of The Hyundai Seoul.
Hyundai Department Store is putting regional content front and center as the travel range of foreign visitors to Korea is expanding from major tourist spots such as Seoul to the regions.
According to the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), 853,905 foreigners entered through regional airports in the first quarter of this year, up 49.7% from a year earlier. Foreign travelers using domestic railways also numbered about 1.69 million, an increase of 46.4% over the same period.
The regional visit rate of foreigners visiting Korea was 34.5%, up 3.2 percentage points from a year earlier. Their total regional stay reached 5.28 million days, a 36.2% increase, and regional spending rose 17.2% to $880 million.
Hyundai Department Store plans to continue the Neo Local popup at major stores through the end of the year, starting with The Hyundai Seoul and moving to Hyundai Outlet Dongdaemun and Connect Hyundai Cheongju.
It will also collaborate with Kakao Style's global magazine "Kitto," promoting the popup through Instagram accounts in Japan and Taiwan. It plans to hold an event for local customers offering round-trip air tickets and hotel stays.
Yang Myung-sung, executive director in charge of sales strategy at Hyundai Department Store, said, "This popup is an effort to introduce Korean regional content to global customers," adding, "We will continue to discover regional content through spatial planning and storytelling."