[Issue] Young Crowd Returns to Revitalized Chungjang-ro... The "Pop-up Effect" at Lotte Gwangju Store

Over 20 Pop-up Stores Hosted This Year, Sparking a Surge in Millennial and Gen Z Customers

Sales to Customers in Their 20s and 30s Up 10%... Increased Foot Traffic in the Food Hall

A New Driving Force Drawing Attention for Revitalizing the O

Chungjang-ro and Geumnam-ro, once the busiest districts in Gwangju, are experiencing a resurgence of youthfulness. As financial institutions, corporations, and large commercial facilities moved to the new downtown area, the old city center went through a prolonged slump. However, in recent times, the increasing number of visitors in their 20s and 30s has raised expectations for a recovery in the local commercial district.

At the center of this transformation is the Lotte Department Store Gwangju branch, located on Chungjang-ro.

Lotte Department Store Gwangju has recently gained a reputation on social media as a "hot spot for pop-up stores," quickly becoming a popular destination for young people. Whereas department stores were once primarily visited for shopping, they have now transformed into spaces where people can experience and enjoy diverse content, thereby attracting a new customer base.

This shift is already producing tangible results. In the first half of this year, the proportion of sales to customers in their 20s and 30s at Lotte Department Store Gwangju rose by over 10% compared to the same period last year. The number of weekend visitors to the food hall on Basement Level 1, where pop-up stores are concentrated, also increased by more than 30%.

The Kkumiverse Jjanggu Pop-up Store held at the Special Event Space on Basement Level 1 of Lotte Department Store Gwangju has attracted great popularity, with over 100 customers waiting on weekends and sales reaching hundreds of millions of won. Provided by Lotte Department Store Gwangju

Pop-up stores are temporary shops that typically operate for about one week to one month. In the past, they mainly served as supplementary spaces focused on selling promotional products. Recently, however, pop-up stores have become key platforms driving the consumption and experiential culture of Millennials & Gen Z, featuring a variety of content such as characters, webtoons, movies, fashion, and lifestyle.

In response to these changes, Lotte Department Store Gwangju has been operating a "New Content Task Force" since last year. This dedicated team of around 10 employees from marketing, sales, and support departments actively seeks out content that is trending nationwide to attract it to Gwangju.

There were significant concerns in the early stages. Some pointed out that content focused on idols, character merchandise, and webtoons, which appeal mainly to young people, could alienate the department store's core customer base of people in their 40s and 50s. There was also skepticism about whether content popular in districts like Seongsu-dong or Hongdae in the Seoul metropolitan area would resonate in regional cities.

However, the results defied expectations. Not only did the number of younger customers increase, but sales to customers in their 40s and 50s also rose by over 5%. The overall atmosphere of the department store became more youthful and energetic, which in turn boosted spending among existing customers as well.

This year, Lotte Department Store Gwangju has held around 20 pop-up stores—a more than 40% increase compared to last year.

The content has also grown more diverse. While previous pop-ups were mainly centered around food, recent offerings have included experiential content such as "Jjanggu Goods," "Harry Potter," "Tom and Jerry," "Haribo Living," and the "Eolleongttungttang Pop-up Store," which features the lifestyle of YouTuber Tongdak Angel, among others.

Some pop-up stores attracted waiting lines of around 100 people on weekends, and achieved sales in the several hundred million won range, rivaling the results of major metropolitan branches.

Local distribution industry officials believe that these changes will not only improve department store performance but also have a positive impact on the entire commercial area of the old city center. As visitors to the pop-up stores also frequent cafes, restaurants, and shops in the Chungjang-ro area, the increase in foot traffic is spreading to surrounding businesses.

Kim Young-yeol, Head of Support at Lotte Department Store Gwangju, said, "The old city center, which had fallen into decline as Millennials & Gen Z stopped visiting, is now experiencing a fresh wave of youthfulness. Unique pop-up content is bringing young people back to Chungjang-ro."

It remains to be seen whether Chungjang-ro and Geumnam-ro—once called "empty streets"—can fully regain their vibrancy thanks to a new consumer culture led by pop-up stores.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.