Shinsegae Duty Free set to wow 100,000 Chinese tourists at K-Pop concert hall

SOUTH KOREA. Shinsegae Duty Free will tomorrow open a K-Pop concert hall next to its new Myeong-dong store in an effort to attract Chinese visitors.

The retailer expects the venue to attract some 100,000 foreign tourists, as it seeks to add cultural experiences to its duty free offer. The company said this approach formed a key part of its strategy in successfully applying to the Korean government for a downtown duty free licence last year.

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Bright idea: The venue’s lobby offers a spectacular entrance

The 2,678sq m hall will be devoted entirely to CJ E&M’s K-Pop idol group ‘BOYS24’. Its 28 members were selected during a TV series and it is the country’s first group created entirely for live performances.

The venue, which has a seating capacity of 550, will take a prominent position in Shinsegae’s Korean Wave marketing. Four 100-minute performances will take place each week, beginning tomorrow (22 September). Shinsegae said tickets for the first six performances had already sold out.

To celebrate the opening of the BOYS24 Hall, Shinsegae will run a promotional event in which customers spending over US$300 at the Myeong-dong store will receive one ticket to attend a performance. The offer will run from 28 September to 7 October and is only available for Chinese customers. 100 tickets will be given on a first-come first-served basis.

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We are the boys: The concert hall will be devoted entirely to performances from 28-member K-Pop group BOYS24

Shinsegae expects the performance hall to bring about a “synergy effect” in the local economy and to create a tourism cluster with the surrounding shopping areas. The hall is located on the tenth and eleventh floor of the MESA Building and is near Namdaemun Market, the country’s oldest and biggest traditional market.

The retailer signed an agreement with CJ E&M in October 2015 to build an “integrated cultural complex for the Korean Wave”, with the former setting up the infrastructure and the latter providing the cultural contents.

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Cultural experience: The concert hall has the capacity to seat 550 K-Pop fans

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Shinsegae noted a recent Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism report that showed 7.7% of foreign tourists considered a ‘K-Pop performance or K-Pop star fan meeting’ when they planned a trip to South Korea. The figure increased to 14.5% among 15-20 year olds and was the second-biggest factor. “This indicates the BOYS24 Hall meets the needs of young tourists who are the main target of the duty free store,” the retailer said.

“We expect the BOYS24 Hall to play an important role in achieving our goal of becoming a duty free shop that offers culture and experience,” said a Shinsegae Duty Free spokesperson. “It will also bring a synergy effect in the local economy and provide a space for foreign shoppers who seek a diverse cultural experience.”

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