2005-2162

Culture
ing’ trend that already exists in most
developed areas like the United States,
Europe, Japan and Hong Kong, the number
of mallgoers in Korea is increasing as
the Korean economy advances,” said
Park Hee-jeong, an official at I’Park Mall
located in Yongsan-gu District, central
Seoul.
It is said that the shopping mall was
born in 1877, when a large outdoor market
was set up in front of a statue of Victor
Emmanuel II in Milan, Italy. The
retail malls seen today date back to 1950s
America, when newly affluent families
moved to the suburbs and the concept of
the family car made the shopping center
concept viable.
When national income per person in
the United States and Japan reached over
$20,000 in 1988, mega-malls were a big
trend. This was the period when terms
like “malling,” “mallgoer,” and “mall
walking” entered the zeitgeist.
“Korea is following the same steps,”
Park said. “With Korea’s economy growing
and its national income per capita on
the verge of reaching $20,000, there will
be more malls built.”
The Lotte World complex in Jamsildong,
southern Seoul, is thought to be
one of the first malls in Korea, opening
in 1988. The Coex Mall in Samseongdong
and the Central City complex built
around the Express Bus Terminal in
southern Seoul followed, along with
I’Park Mall in Yongsan and Shinsegae
Centum City in Busan.
There are currently around 10 megamalls
in Korea and more are planned.
Department stores hope to open
branches within the new centers. Hyundai
Department Store will open a branch
at the Lakinsmall in Ilsan-dong, Gyeonggi-do
Province, next year, while Lotte
Shopping hopes to open its own mall,
the Gimpo Sky Park Mall, near Gimpo
Airport in 2011.
“Koreans were introduced to the
malling trend a bit later than other developed
nations because of the Asian financial
crisis in the late 1990s, but the fiveday
workweek and changing consumer
trends are attracting more visitors to
malls,” said Baek In-soo at Lotte’s retail
center.
Experts say malls are good for busi-
‘The five-day
work week
and changing
consumer
trends are
attracting
more visitors
to malls.’
ness, because the longer visitors stay in one place,
the more money they spend.
According to an industry report, visitors spend
an average of one to two hours at a department store
but three or four hours at a mall, which has more
stores and facilities to hold their attention.
“Most retail facilities [in Korea] will be developed
into malls because more working couples
under time pressure are willing to shop for various
items all at once,” said Jang Jung-ho from Shinsegae.
Kim Dam, president of Times Square, also said that
a new era in the development of Korea’s multi-complex
shopping mall industry has started, adding that
more malls like the Pacific Place in Hong Kong or
Tokyo Midtown will be built. By Lee Eun-joo
Top, a view of Shinsegae Department Store’s Centum City branch in Busan, which was listed
in the Guinness World Records as the world’s largest department store.
Above, the interior of the I’Park Mall in Yongsan-gu District, central Seoul.
Provided by the company [JoongAng Ilbo]
December 2009 korea 41