Fountain in front of Shinsegae's flagship to be relocated to Gangbuk-gu
Site to become open plaza accommodating 7,000 people by year's end
Lotte's flagship to debut 'Lotte Town Light' media facade
Largest in Myeong-dong shopping district; teaser content to begin in November
Myeong-dong's streetscape is set for a dramatic transformation this year-end, as major department stores in the district pour investment into large-scale renovations — riding a wave of record foreign tourist arrivals.
Construction barriers and cranes have appeared in front of the Shinsegae department store flagship in Jung-gu, Seoul, as workers dismantle and relocate a fountain the Seoul Metropolitan Government installed in 1878. The fountain, a work by sculptor Lee Il-young — known for the Phoenix Fountain in front of Cheong Wa Dae — will be moved to the east gate plaza of Bukseoul Dream Forest in Gangbuk-gu.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to create a temporary plaza on the site by year's end, with the ultimate goal of an open square capable of holding 7,000 people. The decision to relocate the fountain was driven by the surge in foreign tourists visiting Seoul in recent years, with the aim of improving connectivity between Myeong-dong, Namdaemun Market and Namsan to further energize the shopping district. Jung-gu will manage the plaza, while Shinsegae will cover all costs.
Shinsegae expects the new plaza to work in tandem with Shinsegae Square, a 1,353.6-square-meter media facade installed on the exterior of its flagship store in November 2024. The facade has screened a range of content — K-pop, entertainment and brand advertising — throughout the year. In June, it drew large crowds when it broadcast live the North and Central America World Cup matches against Mexico and South Africa.
About 300 meters away, Lotte department store's flagship is undergoing its own sweeping renovation that is expected to reshape Myeong-dong's skyline alongside the Shinsegae changes. Workers are installing a 1,614-square-meter media facade called "Lotte Town Light" on the exterior of the store's Young Plaza annex — a screen nearly the size of four basketball courts that will become the largest in the Myeong-dong shopping district once complete. Lotte plans to release teaser content in mid-November, with full programming to begin in December.
Renovation work is also underway on the first below-ground floor of Lotte's flagship, where the Cosmonergy Plaza — created when the store's new wing opened in 1988 — is being redesigned into an 840-square-meter signature space by the end of this year. The Young Plaza annex, which has been under renovation since April 2025, is expected to reopen next year after completing repairs. Lotte is reviewing plans to reconfigure the space to create synergies with its department store operations.
The investments by Lotte and Shinsegae rank among the largest in the industry. With the department store sector on the verge of hitting 1 trillion won in foreign tourist sales this year, the moves are widely seen as an aggressive push to capture year-end demand from overseas visitors. Becoming a landmark through a striking exterior — anchored by a giant media facade — naturally draws more tourist foot traffic. Lotte's flagship, which posts annual sales of around 2 trillion won ($1.47 billion), already derives 30 percent of its revenue from foreign shoppers. Shinsegae's flagship saw foreign sales jump 231 percent year-on-year in the January–August period this year.
"Foreign sales started climbing sharply in the second half of last year and hit a peak this year," one industry official said. "With all-time highs being set one after another, we are ramping up marketing aimed at foreign tourists."
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