Apple previewed Apple Hongdae Thursday, its seventh Apple Store in South Korea and 100th in the Asia-Pacific region, opening Saturday in a busy university neighborhood in Seoul with a daily Today at Apple Pop-Up Studio featuring hip-hop artist Beenzino.
“We couldn’t be more excited to bring our customers in Korea something special at the start of the year with the opening of the all-new Apple Hongdae,” said Deirdre O’Brien, Apple’s senior vice president of Retail.
New Apple Hongdae store opens Saturday in Seoul, South Korea
Apple Hongdae is not large or dramatic by standards set in some locations, but Apple said it “will offer an exciting space for students, their families and the local community to discover and shop Apple’s incredible lineup of products and services, receive exceptional support from highly knowledgeable team members, and participate in free Today at Apple sessions to learn how to get the most out of their products.”
“Combining the latest in Apple technology with the creative passion of the local community, this new store will build on the extraordinary connection we have with our customers in Korea,” O’Brien said. “Our team members are excited to welcome in customers and help them discover the latest in our products and services, including the iPhone 15 lineup.”
And those team members will number nearly 100, Apple said. They will help customers explore not only the iPhone 15 lineup, of course, but M3 Macs, Apple Watches and the new Lunar New Year special-edition AirPods Pro debuting in South Korea and celebrating the Year of the Blue Dragon.
Educational opportunities
Photo: Apple
Apple pointed out that Apple Education Pricing will be in effect for students at the store.
And there’s a special offer, too:
Additionally, eligible customers can take advantage of the college student offer running through March 13 and receive AirPods when they buy an eligible Mac, or an Apple Pencil when they buy an eligible iPad.
And as usual, typical Apple Store services will include Today at Apple educational sessions. In Hongdae’s case, a roundtable setting is available for folks to learn how to use their new devices. And from January to March, Apple hosts a series of free sessions for students to try Mac and iPad and learn new skills.
As part of the Bring on College with Apple series, students at Hongdae and across Korea can sign up for four workshops led by Apple Creatives:
- Create Powerful Presentations in Keynote with Mac
- Create Personalized Documents in Pages with Mac
- Create Impactful Spreadsheets in Numbers with Mac
- Transform Your Lecture Notes with iPad
Other diverse programming: Pop-Up Studio with Beenzino
Photo: Apple
The new store also features more space for Today at Apple sessions that can educate and entertain the local community, Apple said:
Beginning January 20, every day at 5 p.m., customers can also drop into a brand-new Today at Apple Pop-Up Studio featuring iconic hip-hop artist and entrepreneur Beenzino. Through the session, Explore Freeform on iPad, customers can collect ideas, art, photos, and more for their own 2024 vision boards using Freeform. Additionally, the session will tease inspiration behind the artist’s single “Train,” newly released in Spatial Audio and only available on Apple Music. This session is exclusively available at Apple Hongdae and will run through the month. Starting February 9, the session will be available across stores in all of South Korea, Japan, and Australia as part of the Bring on College with Apple campaign.
Commitment to the environment
Apple designed the store with bio-terrazzo flooring using plant-based materials and wall and ceiling panels using acoustic fabric. And like all Apple facilities, the new store runs entirely on renewable energy and is carbon neutral.
AHongdae features a dedicated Apple Pickup station, making it easy for customers to collect online purchases at a convenient time.
South Korean developments
Photo: Apple
Apple opened Apple Garosugil — its first store in South Korea — in 2018. After that came stores in Yeouido, Myeongdong, Jamsil, Gangnam and Hanam.
And that’s not all:
Apple also launched the Apple Developer Academy in Korea — already producing its second class of graduates — and the Apple Manufacturing R&D Accelerator to provide free tools and training programs for small- and medium-sized businesses across the country. Apple is also actively partnering with a number of Korean artists in diverse industries: Last year, the company launched a Shot on iPhone music video for the song “ETA” by popular K-pop group New Jeans, following a 2022 Made on iPad music video for hip-hop artist Jay Park’s song “Bite.”
Apple Hongdae opens on Saturday, January 20, at 10 a.m. local time.
Source: Apple
