A rendering of the 2026 Christmas H Village installation at Thehyundai Seoul. [Hyundai Department Store]
A rendering of the 2026 Christmas H Village installation at Thehyundai Seoul. [Hyundai Department Store]

Hyundai Department Store announced Friday it will bring a Christmas theme inspired by New York City streets of the 1980s and '90s to its department stores and outlet locations across the country.

This year's installations are themed "Christmas in New York City," evoking the urban energy, street culture and vintage aesthetic of that era. The displays will open sequentially, beginning Tuesday at the Trade Center branch, followed by the Apgujeong flagship on Sunday and Thehyundai Seoul on Nov. 10.

Thehyundai Seoul will offer the most immersive experience, recreating a 1980s–'90s New York streetscape on the fifth floor's Sounds Forest H Village. The installation will feature 13 buildings — clad in red brick and standing up to 10 meters tall — alongside billboards, neon signs and yellow taxis typical of New York streets. The display will also weave in a story featuring Hyundai's Christmas signature character, Baby Bear Harry, alongside a cast of New York cats.

The H Village at Thehyundai Seoul will operate on a reservation-only basis. The first round of advance bookings opens Thursday at 11 a.m. through Thehyundai Hi, a premium curation specialty platform. Walk-in visitors can also join an on-site waiting queue by scanning QR codes posted on floors two through four of Thehyundai Seoul.

Hyundai Department Store will also accept advance reservations for international visitors through online tour and experience platforms such as Klook. A dedicated walk-in registration desk for foreign customers will be set up on-site to improve convenience.

A view of the Christmas installation at Hyundai Department Store's Trade Center branch. [Hyundai Department Store]
A view of the Christmas installation at Hyundai Department Store's Trade Center branch. [Hyundai Department Store]

New York-themed Christmas streets will also appear at other locations nationwide, including the Apgujeong flagship, the Trade Center branch and the Pangyo store. The Apgujeong and Trade Center locations will each feature a 13-meter Christmas tree and photo zone at their main entrance plazas. The Pangyo store will display large-scale sculptures evoking New York landmarks — Times Square, Wall Street and the Empire State Building. Outdoor plazas at four Hyundai Premium Outlet locations — Gimpo, Songdo, Space One and Daejeon — will also be transformed into New York Christmas streetscapes.

The H Village Christmas installation at Thehyundai Seoul, which launched in 2022, drew a cumulative total of more than 1.5 million visitors over four years through last year, according to Hyundai Department Store. The share of foreign customers in Thehyundai Seoul's overall sales jumped from 3.3 percent in 2022 to 25.2 percent as of September — nearly an eightfold increase.

"Hyundai Department Store's Christmas has established itself as a signature year-end destination for domestic and international customers alike, with a fresh story and new installations every year," said Park Geun-ho, executive director of sales strategy at Hyundai Department Store. "We will continue to offer differentiated content unique to Hyundai Department Store to strengthen our competitiveness as a global tourism destination."


korean@heraldcorp.com