[Report] 30,000 Visitors from Day One... The Hyundai Seoul Christmas 'Circus Village' Bustles

The Hyundai Seoul Opens Christmas-Themed Space on the 1st
Hot Air Balloon Rises with the Theme of 'Moving Grand Theater'
First Day Admission Reservations Sold Out in 14 Minutes... Nearly 30,000 Concurrent Visitors

On the 1st, at The Hyundai Seoul in Yeouido, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. Upon entering the 5th-floor Sounds Forest, a popular "photo spot," visitors were greeted by hot air balloon models floating in the air. In the space open up to the rooftop of the building, six hot air balloons moved around, capturing attention. Below the balloons, a wide area was filled with theater buildings reminiscent of a circus tent clustered together. Trees, lights, and red decorations scattered throughout created a strong Christmas atmosphere.

Hyundai Department Store will present Christmas-themed decorations next month for the Christmas season. Themed spaces under the concept of "Moving Grand Theater" have been set up from this day at 15 stores including The Hyundai Seoul, Hyundai’s landmark store, Apgujeong Main Store, Trade Center Store, Pangyo Store, and Connect Hyundai Busan.

The exterior view of The Hyundai Seoul's 'Moving Grand Theater.'
[Photo by Hyundai Department Store]

This Christmas theme tells the story of the main character, the teddy bear "Harry," who boards a hot air balloon and embarks on a high-flying adventure to find the moving grand theater. A circus village that looks like it came out of a European fairy tale was recreated inside the department store. To achieve this, Hyundai Department Store’s VMD (Visual MerchanDiser) team visited various Christmas markets across Europe earlier this year. The space design was especially inspired by a Christmas market held in a village in the UK. The design applied the Rococo style of the medieval European Baroque era.

The Christmas-themed space at The Hyundai Seoul is an ideal place for photo certification shots. First, six air balloon models about 7 meters high and 5 meters wide floated here and there. The colorfully decorated air balloons moved around above a large circus tent, creating an exotic atmosphere. Photo zones for taking pictures were also set up throughout the Christmas space.

After passing through the ticket booth and entering the themed space, visitors were welcomed by a theater reminiscent of an actual circus tent. This area consists of a magic theater, stunt theater, and music theater, where various characters move in sync with the music inside. The grand theater, located at the end of the route, is considered the landmark of this theme. In the grand theater, an 8-meter-high large Christmas tree rotates 360 degrees while 15 characters greet visitors.

The exterior view of The Hyundai Seoul's "Moving Grand Theater."
Photo by Lee Myunghwan

The Hyundai Seoul puts great effort into its Christmas-themed spaces every year because they are hugely popular, especially among young people. Due to the influx of people during the Christmas and year-end season, advance reservations are essential to enter the Christmas market. On-site entry waits are also accepted, but entry is only possible if cancellations occur among those with reservations.

On the first day, advance reservations for entry were filled within 14 minutes. The number of simultaneous users on the reservation site also exceeded 30,000 at one point. Last year, the Christmas-themed space "H Village" set a record with about 20,000 simultaneous users and full booking within an hour on its first day, but this year’s numbers surpassed that. Considering that weekday visitors last year were around 5,000 and weekends about 10,000, it is expected that even more visitors will come to The Hyundai Seoul.

Interior of the Christmas-themed space at The Hyundai Seoul.
Photo by Lee Myunghwan

In the Christmas-themed space, Hyundai Department Store’s self-developed Christmas edition private brand (PB) products were naturally displayed within the space. Customers can purchase products at a counter set up in the center after exploring the space. The Christmas pop-up store "Harry Shop," which was introduced at five major stores last year, will operate at a total of 15 stores this year. The quantity of PB products, which sold out last year, has also been expanded more than threefold.

Jung Min-gyu, chief designer of Hyundai Department Store’s VMD team who oversaw this year’s Christmas space production, said, "This year, we used kinetic art (moving sculptures) to create a grand yet lively Christmas atmosphere," adding, "Beyond shopping, we designed it as a space where customers can stay and enjoy, aiming to once again become Korea’s representative Christmas 'photo spot'."