Lotte Department Store co-hosts '2026 Style Run' with Songpa-gu
Sports sales up 30% as Jamsil cements status as Seoul's running hub
By 7:30 a.m. Sunday, the area around Exit 1 of Jamsil Station in Songpa-gu, Seoul, was already buzzing. Rain had been forecast since the early hours, but that did little to thin the crowd gathered for Lotte Department Store's flagship running event, the 2026 Style Run. Runners in matching purple caps and ivory T-shirts warmed up in small groups or jogged in place to chants, filling the overcast morning with an unmistakable energy.
"The 10-kilometer group, please move to the start line. Five-kilometer runners, please stand by." A race official's voice cut through the crowd. Participants moved to the starting area in front of Lotte World Tower, and moments later a roar went up as the first wave surged forward, the sound of hundreds of footsteps slicing through the still air.
The 5-kilometer course began at the entrance to Lotte World Mall, looped around the western side of Seokchon Lake after a turn near Mongchontoseong Station, and finished back where it started. A light drizzle fell near the lake, making the breathing harder, but the sight of parents pushing strollers and running hand-in-hand with young children kept spirits high. As Lotte Department Store and Lotte World Tower came back into view, the finish line felt close — and the legs felt lighter.
Finishers received a completion medal and a race kit. The weight of the medal around the neck brought a genuine sense of accomplishment. Afterward, participants snapped photos at a timing photo zone before browsing the brand booths, where the hours slipped by quickly. The booth area featured a wide range of running-related brands and products — from sportswear by main sponsor Zara Athleticz to Garmin watches and Knees Icing patches.
Now in its eighth year, the Style Run is Lotte Department Store's signature running event, held across Lotte Town Jamsil — the country's largest mixed-use shopping complex. The event has drawn a cumulative 40,000 participants through last year, establishing itself as one of South Korea's premier urban running races. Riding the wave of the running boom, organizers expanded this year's field by 15 percent to 7,000 runners, yet tickets sold out in three hours and 30 minutes — an hour and a half faster than last year's five-hour sellout.
The decision to scale up the event reflects Lotte's conviction that the running trend is not a passing fad. With the domestic running population estimated at about 10 million, younger generations drawn to healthy lifestyles continue to take up the sport, embedding it as an everyday cultural activity.
Sales figures back that view. Lotte Department Store said its storewide sports category sales rose 15 percent year-on-year in the January-to-September period. At Lotte Town Jamsil, which the company has been cultivating as a dedicated running hub, the increase was 30 percent over the same period — double the chainwide rate. Running brand sales at the Jamsil store have posted double-digit growth every year for the past three years.
Lotte Department Store has moved quickly to bring world-class running stores to Lotte Town Jamsil, reinforcing its position as the go-to destination for the sport. A Hoka flagship store — the first in South Korea — opened in November 2022, setting itself apart with locker rooms, a beverage service and shoe-fitting assistance beyond standard retail. In May last year, the company introduced Nike Rise, a Nike running specialty store also the first of its kind in the country, which reached No. 1 in running sales across the Greater Seoul area within about a month of opening.
The Jamsil store now houses more than 20 running and sports stores combined, with a total floor space of several hundred square meters. Running-related services and content are expanding as well. A weekly Wednesday evening running class, the Nike Lotte World Tower Run Club, takes participants on a route through Lotte Town Jamsil. Global premium sports brand On opened a store at the complex in November last year, and this year Lotte became the first retailer in the industry to open an Adidas Brand Center and a Saucony store at the site.
spa@heraldcorp.com
