Apple Store Opens in Hongdae... Pre-Launch on the Same Day as Galaxy S24 Unpack

Apple Hongdae, 100th Store in APAC Region
Purchase & Service Experience, Product Tips Sessions Held
Pop-up Studio Featuring Singer Beenzino Also Available

Amid heightened attention on the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event, Apple is diverting attention by unveiling Apple Hongdae, located in the 'MZ hot place.' Apple Hongdae, the seventh retail store in South Korea and the 100th in the Asia-Pacific region, is just two days away from its official opening.

Apple Hongdae Store / Photo by Apple

On the 18th, Apple announced the pre-opening of Apple Hongdae, operating around Yanghwa-ro in Mapo-gu, Seoul. Located near Hongdae Entrance Station on Line 2, Apple Hongdae offers local customers the opportunity to experience and purchase a variety of product lineups and services, as well as participate for free in 'Today at Apple' sessions, programs designed to help users make the most of their products. Apple Hongdae is scheduled to officially welcome visitors starting at 10 a.m. on the 20th.

About 100 employees at Apple Hongdae assist customers in directly experiencing the Apple products they desire. To facilitate communication and education with customers, the store is equipped with a 'Today at Apple' session environment arranged with roundtable settings. Customers attending the sessions can learn how to use new devices, explore the features of the latest products, and participate in sessions covering various topics.

Until March, a variety of 'Today at Apple' sessions will be offered to student customers. These sessions aim to enhance creativity and provide tips to support school life. As part of the 'Confident College Life with Apple' program, student customers can register for four types of workshops led by Apple creatives at Apple Hongdae and other Apple stores in South Korea.

The workshops include ▲ creating effective presentations with Keynote ▲ making customized documents with Pages ▲ building impactful spreadsheets with Numbers ▲ and transforming lecture notes. Participation can be applied for on the 'Today at Apple' sessions page.

Photo by Apple

Additionally, starting from the 20th, customers can experience a new 'Today at Apple Pop-up Studio' featuring hip-hop artist Beenzino. Every day at 5 p.m., customers can join the 'Pop-up Studio: Experiencing Freeform on iPad with Beenzino' session, where they can gather various ideas, drawings, and photos in Freeform to create a vision board for the year.

In this session, participants can also get a glimpse of the inspiration behind the spatial audio version of the single 'Train,' available exclusively on Apple Music. This session will be held daily at 5 p.m. at Apple Hongdae for about a month until the 9th of next month. Afterwards, it will be conducted across Apple stores in South Korea, Japan, and Australia as part of the 'Confident College Life with Apple' program.

As part of its environmental protection efforts, Apple Hongdae uses bio-based eco-friendly terrazzo flooring made from plant-based materials, and eco-friendly materials are also used for the acoustic fabric on walls and ceiling panels. The store operates on 100% renewable energy with carbon neutrality. There is a dedicated pickup area where customers can conveniently collect products purchased online.

Deirdre O'Brien, Apple's Senior Vice President of Retail, said, "This new store, where Apple's cutting-edge technology and the creative passion of the Hongdae community come together, was born on a solid foundation built with domestic customers and Apple." She added, "The Apple Store team members are excited about the idea that customers can explore products and services like the iPhone 15 lineup at Apple Hongdae."

Meanwhile, to mark the new semester, Apple is running an education discount promotion allowing student and family customers to purchase Macs or iPads at discounted prices through retail channels including Apple Store. Eligible customers can receive AirPods free with the purchase of certain Macs or an Apple Pencil free with the purchase of an iPad through the new semester promotion until March 13.