New Seoul Adidas Bukcheon Heritage Flagship in & Neighborhood Peek

Entrance of the Adidas Bukcheon Village flagship store

New brand flagship in Seoul means a visit – this time it was Adidas’ Bukcheon Village store. For those of you less familiar with the city, Bukcheon Village is home to hundreds of traditional houses, called Hanok. The area is also filled with museums, galleries, and has that wonderful traditional culture-feel about it.

So, what did I discover?

LOCALIZED IN-STORE DIGITAL MEDIA – I don’t know who made that video but YES. The two dancing figures in the modernized traditional folk performance clothing and with masks created in likeness of the traditional Andong Hahoe Masks are a masterpiece. The perfect blend of the Adidas brand and traditional Korean culture with a modern twist. Whoever created the video needs a raise!

LOCALIZED EXCLUSIVE COLLECTION – so many Adidas Seoul & Bukcheon Village T-shirts! I will definitely need one. That’s such a great way to appeal both to locals and those visiting Seoul – and Bukcheon is one of the prime tourism areas. Of course, these are exclusive and sold only at this location, making it even more appealing to shoppers.

Then there are also the 2023 Samba Tal shoes brought back for the store opening. This model is introduced by Adidas the following way: “Samba is a name inspired by the vibrant rhythms of Brazilian music and dance. ‘Samba Tal’ is designed with symbolic colors, signifying the Korean traditional mask dance (Tal-Choom), reinterpreting Samba sneaker’s cultural heritage. Feel the fresh excitement and style created by the harmony of East and West through ‘Samba Tal’ collection as the fourth City of Seoul project in 2023.” There’s also and gift with purchase – a traditional mask-shaped shoe charm, the perfect combination.

ON-SITE (LOCALIZED) PERSONALIZATION SERVICES – there’s a general Sneakerhead Workshop table with beads and all sorts of goodies, but what steals the show for me is the enormous selection of shoe and apparel customization options e.g., shoe laces, dubrae (ornamental shoelace tags), shoe charms, sew patches, transfer paper, DTG (direct-to-garment) printing – a whole library of options that are, of course, Korea/Seoul themed!

LOCALIZED STORE FRONT – the new flagship is not located in a traditional Korean house, Hanok, but it (almost) makes up for that with the way the entrance area has been decorated – with the beautiful low fence with traditional wooden woodwork, the pond-like installation and lotus flower-shaped animatronics. I loved it. Clearly, an enormous effort went into making it come to life and I’m sure it was worth it – the place stands out from the crowd, there’s no doubt about that!

COLLABORATION WITH LOCAL TALENT – in 2021, Adidas welcomed the South Korean model and actress Hoyeon Jung as their global ambassador Hoyeon is known to the world thanks to her breakout role in Squid Game. In the store we can see her model the Taekwondo shoes – how fitting, seeing as Taekwondo is a Korean martial art and combat sport.

… & SOME FUN TECH – there are tablets for personalization services, large screens, and there are QR codes. There’s also the aforementioned animatronic lotus flower in the pond-like installation in front of the building. And, of course, Adidas has a Kakao Talk brand channel where the launch of the store was shared with the Korean audience (you can also see more of the store interior featured in the message – the store was packed when I went there!)

The only thing I wish the brand do is further localize the store interior – there were only a few low tables that had a traditional wooden decoration, but apart from that little about the spatial design made a reference to the unique neighborhood it is located in. Even more important as the store is in a western-style building, not traditional. All of the localized elements can be easily replaced and so it feels like a bigger commitmnent could have been made. And while there is of course a limited number of Hanok houses available for rent and the brand might have not been able to secure one even if that was the intention, I still think it’s a missed opportunity.

Nonetheless, it’s a great flagship and, all in all, an enormous amount of effort was made to make it feel unique – so that’s just that cherry on top that I feel is missing. (Also, I am yet to visit that New Balance store on the opposite site of the street – that might be an interesting comparison!)

Below are a few pictures of the Hanok houses in the neighborhood so that you have a better understanding of my sentiment – enjoy!