Naver Webtoon Opens 3 Popup Stores This Month Alone... Accelerating Goods Business

Naver Webtoon is expanding its merchandise business by opening three pop-up stores in October alone.

According to industry sources on the 27th, Naver Webtoon is holding pop-up stores from the 3rd to the 16th of this month at Gonggan Wadiz in Seongsu-dong, Seoul, and Starfield COEX Mall in Samseong-dong.

At Gonggan Wadiz, pop-up stores for "Garbage Time" and "Maru-neun Gangjwi" will be held. They are conducted with 100% advance reservations, which started on the 13th of this month.

"Garbage Time" began serialization in March 2019 and concluded in January this year. It is a story adapted from the true story of the Busan Jungang High School basketball team. Utilizing the original intellectual property (IP), various businesses such as merchandise, Samsung Electronics Galaxy Z Flip5 Garbage Time Edition, single volumes, audio webtoons, emoticons, and OSTs have generated additional revenue exceeding 7 billion KRW last year alone.

Previously, the first official "Garbage Time" pop-up store held at Yeongdeungpo Times Square from January 25 to February 7 recorded the highest sales among all Naver Webtoon pop-up stores.

At the "Maru-neun Gangjwi" pop-up store, visitors can find a total of about 170 types of merchandise, including new items.

"Maru-neun Gangjwi" has been serialized since June 2022 and tells the story of a dog named Maru who becomes human. It has successfully collaborated with various brands across industries, including GS Retail, Mega MGC Coffee, Domino's Pizza, Haitai Ice Cream, KT, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6, Kookmin Card, LG Household & Health Care, and Photoism. Last month, it became the first webtoon character to collaborate with a professional baseball team. Eleven collaboration products were released with the LG Twins, and "Invincible Maru Day," which included an event where the main character "Maru" threw the first pitch, was held for three days at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul.

Additionally, the webtoon "Jibi Eopseo" pop-up store "Homecoming Day" held at Starfield COEX Mall is the first official pop-up store based on the IP, showcasing about 140 types of merchandise.

The webtoon "Jibi Eopseo" depicts the growth story of two high school students living together in an abandoned old dormitory. It began serialization in December 2018 and concluded in mid-October. An animation release is scheduled within this year.