▲Exterior rendering of the Musinsa Kicks Hongdae store, opening on the 9th of this month. Photo=Musinsa
Fashion retailer Musinsa is set to open its first shoe-focused offline concept shop, Musinsa Kicks (MUSINSA KICKS), on the 9th near Hongik University Station in Mapo-gu, Seoul.
Musinsa Kicks channels Musinsa’s origins and identity — the company began in 2001 as a shoe community known as "A Place with Lots of Shoe Photos." The store name borrows the sneaker-lover term "kicks" to signal a space dedicated to sneaker culture and discovery.
Located near Exit 9 of Hongik University Station on Seoul Subway Line 2, the shop spans the first through third floors and covers 1,124㎡ (about 12,099 sq ft; roughly 340 pyeong). A full shoe wall and themed curated displays set a mood that distinguishes it from typical multi-brand shoe shops.
Like Musinsa’s other physical stores, Musinsa Kicks offers an Online-for-Offline (O4O) shopping experience: shoppers can scan QR codes on products to check member pricing, in-store inventory, reviews, and styling content.
The first floor houses a running-focused zone called Musinsa Run, featuring everything from everyday running shoes to high-performance models. You’ll also find a Player zone for sports apparel and accessories, plus a pop-up zone that spotlights a different brand each month.
The second floor centers on Next Outdoor, a curated edit of outdoor and gorpcore pieces. A Bag & Cap Club brings together bags and hats, making it easy to style looks that pair well with the footwear on offer.
On the third floor, the emphasis is on leather shoes — loafers, boots — alongside popular releases from the rising brands currently generating buzz on Musinsa.
About 80 brands will be available, from global sports leaders like Nike, adidas, Salomon, and Puma to domestic labels such as Gihho and Rockfish Weatherwear — homegrown names that have built passionate followings on Musinsa with distinctive, fashion-forward designs.
To celebrate the grand opening, Musinsa Kicks Hongdae will release several limited-edition sneakers that collectors are watching closely. On opening day, the shop will drop the Unaffected x ASICS Gel-Nimbus 10.1 collaboration, which sold out on Musinsa in 10 minutes when it launched last November.
On the 10th, Musinsa will release Vans’ limited-edition LX Old Skool 36 - Souvenir Warm Brown. For one day only on the 9th, the store will run a Super Bag event: a limited number of randomly assembled packages of popular items from tenant brands will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis for KRW 49,900 (about $37.43).
A Musinsa spokesperson said, "Musinsa Kicks Hongdae distills our authenticity around footwear, our curatorial strengths, and our platform technology. We hope it becomes a new landmark for shoe lovers visiting Hongdae." They added that additional Musinsa Kicks locations are planned for key Seoul neighborhoods such as Seongsu and Gangnam in the first half of this year.
By Solmi Baek bsm@ekn.kr
