Lotte Town Myeongdong to Undergo Space Innovation with Giant Media Facade

Myeongdong’s Largest Media Facade to Adorn Young Plaza

Renovation Begins for the Cosmoenergy Plaza on Main Branch’s First Basement

Establishing a Landmark that Embodies ‘Lotte Town Myeongdong’s’ Identity

Lotte Department Store is renovating "Lotte Town Myeongdong" with its main store as the center. The company plans to install the largest-scale giant media facade in Myeongdong and renew "Cosmoenergy Square," which has represented the main store for more than 40 years, transforming the area into a major Seoul landmark that goes beyond shopping by integrating culture, tourism, and content.

Lotte Department Store announced on July 29 that it will unveil a giant media facade called "Lotte Town Light" on the exterior of Young Plaza this December. Measuring 77 meters wide and 21 meters high for a total area of 1,614 square meters, its size is nearly equivalent to four basketball courts. As the largest media facade in the Myeongdong area, it utilizes high-performance LED panels capable of 4K live displays, ensuring both high resolution and daytime visibility. It has been designed so that images can be clearly viewed from up to one kilometer away.

A view of Young Plaza located in Sogong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul. Provided by Lotte Department Store.

"Lotte Town Light" will operate as an "urban entertainment screen," capturing both K-content and the city's vibrancy in the heart of Myeongdong, which is traversed by about 700,000 people per day. It will showcase not only Lotte Department Store’s seasonal campaigns and themed events, but also various forms of cultural, artistic, and entertainment content. It will also serve as a key feature in the "Myeongdong Square" development project being promoted by Jung-gu, Seoul, solidifying its role as Myeongdong’s new landmark.

At the end of the year, a large-scale media display will connect the main building, Avenuel, and Young Plaza as a single integrated space. By adding "Lotte Town Light" to the annual Christmas season's exterior productions, the company aims to create a landscape that connects the entire city through light. In November, a teaser video inspired by Goethe’s novel "The Sorrows of Young Werther" will be released, followed by official operations beginning in December.

The "Cosmoenergy Square" on the first basement level of the main store will also be revamped for the first time in about 40 years. Created in 1988 with the opening of the new building, this space is a major gateway connecting Euljiro 1(il)-ga Station to the main store, with about 20,000 people passing through it daily. The name derives from the dome-shaped glass ceiling above the square and the stainless steel sculpture "Cosmoenergy" by Professor Chung Kwanmo, which is installed outside the main store.

Lotte Department Store plans to redevelop the approximately 840-square-meter (250-pyeong) square as a signature space embodying the history and heritage of "Lotte Town Myeongdong." A symbolic sculpture representing Lotte Town will be installed at the center, while the surrounding area will feature content reflecting the unique character of Seoul, creating a welcoming space where foreign tourists can naturally linger and experience the area. Construction will begin next month and is scheduled for completion and public unveiling by the end of the year.

This project is an extension of the main store's renewal that has been ongoing since 2021. Lotte Department Store has been systematically enhancing key areas of the main store, and following the renewal of Cosmoenergy Square, plans are in place to revamp Avenuel. The Jamsil branch is also set to begin renovations of its food hall within this year.

Since opening at 1 Sogong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul in 1979, the Lotte Department Store main branch has become a symbolic location, having been the first department store in Korea to achieve annual sales of 1 trillion won and leading the growth of the domestic retail industry. Subsequently, the company established the "Lotte Town" model by introducing Young Plaza and Avenuel, the nation’s first luxury specialty hall, combining shopping, tourism, and culture.

Recently, the rising number of foreign tourists has further strengthened its status as a global shopping destination. In the first half of this year, foreign customer sales at the main store surged by 140% compared to the same period last year, and the proportion of total sales generated by foreign customers rose to 30%.

Jung Hyunseok, CEO of Lotte Department Store, stated, "Lotte Department Store is creating new customer experiences by blending shopping, culture, and content based on heritage," adding, "Lotte Town Myeongdong, now established as Seoul's leading complex for tourism and shopping, will continue to grow into Korea’s top shopping and tourism landmark that both domestic and international customers seek out first, by expanding differentiated space innovation and content, including the media facade."

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