Hundreds Gathered 3 Hours Before Opening... Finally, Japanese Brand Lands in Korea [Report]

Lotte Avenuel Jamsil Hosts First BEAMS Pop-Up in Korea
300 People Lined Up Three Hours Before Opening
Exclusive 'Seoul Exclusive' Products Draw Attention
37,000 KRW Key Holder Sold Out in Five Minutes

On the morning of the 4th, I visited the 'BEAMS' pop-up store at Lotte Avenuel Jamsil in Songpa-gu, Seoul. The waiting line stretched endlessly even before the opening. Photo by Jaehyun Park

On the morning of the 4th, at Lotte Avenuel Jamsil in Songpa-gu, Seoul, the first official domestic pop-up store of the famous Japanese select shop brand 'BEAMS' appeared, attracting an unprecedented crowd. On that day, the line started three hours before the store opened and continued endlessly. The news of BEAMS landing in Korea became a hot topic in fashion communities, drawing over 300 customers just for the opening rush.

BEAMS is a representative Japanese select shop and fashion brand that started in Harajuku, Tokyo in 1976. In Korea, it is well known among fashion enthusiasts as a must-visit shopping destination when traveling to Japan. Especially in Japan, it is regarded as a brand that greatly contributed to establishing the 'Amerikaji look,' a term for American casual style. Currently, it operates over 170 stores in Japan and major Asian countries.

The BEAMS store unified its carpet and display stands in the brand’s signature vermilion color. Particularly eye-catching were the tiger logo displayed in front of the store and the short-sleeve T-shirts printed with 'BEAMS' in Japanese. These products feature a tiger design symbolizing Korea and are a collaboration with the TOYO brand. The price is 227,000 KRW.

Inside the store, various fashion items from different lines were displayed, including the men's line 'BEAMS,' the women's line 'BEAMS BOY' which reinterprets men's fashion, and 'Ray BEAMS.' Stylish bags and accessories were also available. BEAMS accessories such as key holders and shopping bags created a big buzz. The 'BEAMS BOY Denim Key Holder,' priced at 37,000 KRW, sold out within five minutes of the store opening.

T-shirts displayed in front of the Beams popup store. The tiger logo and 'Beams' written in Japanese stand out. The price is 228,000 won. Photo by Jae-Hyun Park

The reason for the unprecedented crowd at the pop-up store was the attention given to the 'BEAMS Seoul Exclusive.' The store exclusively sold BEAMS Seoul Exclusive products released to commemorate the first pop-up store in Korea. Items such as the 'BEAMS BOY T-shirt' and 'BEAMS BOY Tote Bag,' printed with BEAMS BOY Seoul in both Hangul and English, also attracted attention. Park Jong-myeong (30, Gangbuk-gu, Seoul), who visited the store that day, said, "I always visit this place when I go to Japan, but I came because I heard they were opening a pop-up store in Korea for the first time," adding, "I will purchase the BEAMS Seoul Exclusive T-shirt."

Products collaborated with artists also stood out. To commemorate the pop-up store opening, exclusive T-shirts and tote bags collaborated with Japanese artist NORAHI, as well as T-shirts collaborated with Korean artist Tree13, were showcased. For three days starting from that day, autograph events featuring Japanese artists HIMAA and NORAHI were also scheduled.

A Lotte Department Store official said, "We anticipated popularity while preparing the pop-up store, but we did not expect such a large crowd," and added, "Although converting it into a permanent store has not been discussed yet, we will use this pop-up store as a test store to check customer reactions."

Meanwhile, Lotte Department Store is recently focusing its efforts on exclusively introducing overseas brand stores that are popular among the MZ generation. On the 1st, they opened a store for the 'Sporty & Rich' brand, which started in the U.S. in 2014. The Sporty & Rich store at Avenuel Jamsil is the first to enter a department store.