Kanou, 23, told me at a Seongsu-dong pop-up store on a weekday afternoon that she was on her second day in the neighborhood, juggling several shopping bags.
Another Japanese visitor, whose hotel was in Gangnam, said she keeps coming back to Seongsu-dong despite the distance because the pop-ups and activities make for a full, fun day.
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Myeong-dong and Gangnam are old news… Seongsu-dong is the place to be
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Myeong-dong and Gangnam once led the K-fashion and K-beauty craze, but Seongsu-dong has stolen the spotlight. The area draws not only Japanese visitors but many Chinese tourists as well — most arrive with armfuls of shopping bags.
The boom on social media has only turned Seongsu-dong up a notch. Weekends get so crowded you can barely move. A first-time visitor from Japan said she came specifically for a rebranding pop-up by the French label Marithé François Girbaud — it runs through March 30, so she hurried over before it ended. She added that brands often post about Seongsu-dong on social channels, and some of her favorite labels were offering items sold only in Korea.
For Japanese tourists, Olive Young and Musinsa have become must-stops. The Olive Young in Seongsu-dong is the largest store in the country, with several floors of products that draw international shoppers. Kobayashi, 23, from Tokyo, said this was her second trip to Korea; she returned because she loved the cosmetics she bought on her first visit.
As foreign visitors flock to Seongsu-dong, brands have set up photo zones to grab attention. Shoppers love snapping and sharing those moments, which turns into free promotion for the stores. “You can try so many things without buying,” Kobayashi said. “If I come back to Korea, I’ll definitely head back to Seongsu-dong.”
