As Soon as It Opened, 20,000 People Gathered... Where Will This Year's First Christmas 인증샷 Go?

Major Department Stores Launch Christmas Events from November 1
Lotte Department Store's Christmas Showtime... Exterior Wall Lighting Show
The Hyundai Seoul Floats Model Hot Air Balloons in Sounds Forest

The domestic department store industry has begun early preparations for the Christmas season. While decorating the exterior walls of department stores with Christmas decorations and lights, some places are also displaying hot air balloon models indoors.

According to the distribution industry on the 30th, major domestic department stores will officially enter the Christmas season starting from the 1st of next month, decorating their stores and welcoming customers.

'Wonderful Showtime' lighting show concept at Lotte Department Store Main Branch.
[Photo by Lotte Department Store]

First, Lotte Department Store will present the 'Christmas Showtime.' Starting from November 1st, all Lotte Department Store branches will sequentially showcase Christmas decorations, extending to Lotte Outlets. This year’s Christmas theme at Lotte Department Store is 'Wonderful SHOWTIME,' featuring more splendid Christmas decorations centered around the main store compared to previous years.

First, the street in front of the main store has been transformed into 'Theater Sogong' in collaboration with famous artists, decorating the street and entrance with neon signs. Three large show windows have been designed in cooperation with renowned domestic artists Yoon Yeo-jun, VAKKI, and Grace Elwood to evoke scenes from various performances. A ticket booth photo zone has been set up at the main entrance.

This year, for the first time ever, an exterior lighting show will be held, allowing people to enjoy the Christmas Showtime from Myeongdong Street across from the main store. The lighting show runs every day from 5:30 PM to 11 PM, every 30 minutes for about 2 minutes each. The show uses about 20,000 LED bulbs synchronized with music, with the main store’s exterior wall as the backdrop.

Additionally, each store will decorate its interior and exterior according to its characteristics with Christmas themes. In particular, 'Christmas Gift Curation Zones' using design elements from the Wonderful SHOWTIME theme will be set up throughout the stores. The 'Christmas Market,' which gained attention last year in Jamsil, will be expanded from mid-November to not only the Jamsil World Park lawn plaza but also to Time Villas Suwon.

Yoon Ho-yeon, VMD team leader of Lotte Department Store’s Visual Division, said, "To meet the growing expectations and interest in Lotte Department Store’s Christmas theme every year, we are introducing new elements such as the exterior lighting show that have not been done before. Having devoted nearly a year of meticulous preparation since the beginning of the year, we hope customers will create even more special memories with the Christmas Showtime staged at Lotte Department Store."

The Hyundai Seoul Christmas Theme 'Moving Grand Theater'.
Photo by Hyundai Department Store

Hyundai Department Store will also showcase Christmas-themed decorations starting from the 1st of next month at 15 stores nationwide, including The Hyundai Seoul, Apgujeong Main Store, Trade Center Store, and Pangyo Store, as well as Connect Hyundai Busan. Hyundai Department Store will display hot air balloon models at The Hyundai Seoul, a large store in Seoul.

This season’s concept is 'Le Grand Theatre,' recreating a circus village from a European fairy tale. The story features the protagonist Harry embarking on an adventure in a hot air balloon to find the moving grand theatre where the best show is performed.

In particular, The Hyundai Seoul will display six air balloon models approximately 7 meters high and 5 meters wide in the Sounds Forest on the 5th floor. After passing through the ticket booth and entering the entrance, visitors can experience the magic theatre, acrobatics theatre, and music theatre in sequence. At the end of the route, the grand theatre, the highlight of this theme, appears with an 8-meter-high rotating Christmas tree and 15 characters welcoming visitors.

The same concept will be applied to other stores as well. Apgujeong Main Store will place kinetic art (moving sculptures) of music box types on each floor, viewable from 360 degrees. The Trade Center Store will install a large circus tent and a rotating tree in front of the building. Pangyo Store plans to display small air balloon models in the vertical void space between the 1st and 5th floors starting November 11th and showcase the Christmas grand theatre in the 5th-floor Family Garden. Connect Hyundai Busan will decorate the designer Jaime Hayon’s artwork 'The Visionary' on the 1st floor by dressing it in a Santa outfit.

Jung Min-gyu, lead designer of Hyundai Department Store’s VMD team, said, "This year, we used kinetic art (moving sculptures) to create a grand yet lively Christmas atmosphere. Beyond shopping, we have designed the space for customers to stay and enjoy, aiming to become a representative Christmas 'photo spot' in Korea once again."

Department stores are putting effort into Christmas season events not only to attract customers but also to gain indirect promotional effects through social media. Last year, The Hyundai Seoul’s Christmas-themed village 'H Village' attracted about 20,000 simultaneous visitors during the first Naver pre-reservation opening, with on-site waiting numbers exceeding 800. During this period, weekday visitors numbered around 5,000, and weekends about 10,000. Lotte Department Store also saw an increase in evening sales centered on food and beverage as customers flocked to see the Christmas decorations at the main store during the two months of lighting (November to December 2023).