Myeong-dong goals to grow to be 'Seoul's Occasions Sq.' with large-scale shows

New 12 months’s Eve countdown occasion set for Dec. 31 with Okay-pop performances utilizing outside digital billboards

By Jung Da-hyun

Seoul’s Jung District plans to rework Myeong-dong right into a vibrant media hub, much like New York’s Occasions Sq., by putting in LED digital boards and digital city panels in a bid to draw extra folks, the district workplace introduced, Wednesday.

Beginning this yr, 16 massive LED shows and 80 digital panels shall be arrange in Myeong-dong in a three-phase venture.

Myeong-dong is likely one of the metropolis’s hottest locations, with 77 % of overseas vacationers visiting the realm. It’s seen as an excellent location for international promotions by outside advertisements.

The initiative goals to revitalize the realm and introduce new cultural tourism content material because the variety of guests have surged following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The district workplace goals to determine “Myeong-dong Sq.” as a brand new metropolis landmark, enhancing the attraction of its buying streets by dynamic media facades designed to draw international manufacturers.

Final December, Myeong-dong was designated as a particular zone the place outside digital shows may be put in with out restrictions, permitting the district to freely arrange digital indicators no matter form, measurement or shade.

This transfer is a part of a broader effort to create a vibrant, visually dynamic streetscape, akin to New York’s Occasions Sq..

The initiative has already begun, with massive digital shows being put in on distinguished buildings close to Myeong-dong, together with Shinsegae Division Retailer’s predominant department, Hana Financial institution’s headquarters and Kyowon Constructing.

In response to the district workplace, the set up of out of doors promoting boards in Myeong-dong shall be accomplished over the following decade, with the venture set to conclude by 2033.

The primary section, slated for completion subsequent yr, will introduce primary infrastructure and knowledge and communications expertise, and huge LED screens shall be put in on six key buildings, beginning with Shinsegae Division Retailer.

Notably, Lotte Division Retailer’s new constructing options the biggest show, measuring 115 meters huge and 21 meters excessive, seen from neighboring Jonggak space.

The second section, working from 2026 to 2028, and the third section, from 2029 to 2033, will see the gradual set up of further massive digital shows throughout Myeong-dong.

Media poles, good avenue lamps and good LED stands may also be arrange all through the realm. These good media installations, geared up with digital screens, will present data and companies to passersby.

As soon as accomplished, the district workplace expects the venture to generate an estimated 50 billion received ($36.2 million) yearly.

Shinsegae Division Retailer’s predominant constructing is illuminated with Christmas-themed lights in Jung District, central Seoul in 2023. Yonhap

Using Myeong-dong’s new media facades and shows, the district plans to host a sequence of occasions, beginning with a lighting ceremony at Shinsegae Division Retailer’s predominant constructing on Nov. 1.

Shinsegae is the oldest standing division retailer constructing in Korea, relationship again to the Gyeongseong department of Mitsukoshi through the 1910-45 Japanese colonial period.

As well as, a New 12 months’s Eve countdown occasion shall be held on Dec. 31 in entrance of the shop, marking the beginning of what the district workplace hopes will grow to be an iconic annual celebration.

Dubbed “Myeong-dong Sq., Mild Now,” this yr’s occasion will characteristic Okay-pop performances and a countdown to ring in 2025.

“We goal to make Myeong-dong Sq. a world vacationer vacation spot, providing an immersive expertise that surpasses even the popularity of New York’s Occasions Sq.,” stated Kim Kil-sung, head of the Jung District Workplace.