Visitors gather at pop-up stores at I'Park Mall in Yongsan District, Seoul in this undated 2026 photo. Courtesy of I'Park Mall
Yongsan in central Seoul was once the capital of electronics in Korea. For those shopping for gadgets, a visit to the area was a must. However, after the widespread adoption of online shopping led to a decline in physical electronics sales, the neighborhood has found a new identity.
The area, centered around I'Park Mall, is now emerging as a major hub for subculture content and pop-up events, drawing a growing number of visitors seeking unique offline experiences.
The shopping complex embodies that transformation, shifting away from traditional retail to focus on fandoms built around animations, games and character-based intellectual property.
Stores selling goods from popular franchises, alongside the country's largest Nintendo shop and Sony's PlayStation store, have turned the mall into a go-to destination for video game and subculture fans.
Visitors to I’Park Mall in Yongsan District, Seoul, check out Japanese animation-themed goods, April 15. Korea Times photo by Baek Byung-yeul
Dopamine Station, which opened at I'Park Mall last year, is packed with visitors of all ages, even on weekday afternoons. The space brings together a wide range of goods such as merchandise from popular animation and game characters, mechanical keyboards and capsule toy machines, alongside cafes, allowing visitors to explore and indulge their personal interests all in one place.
An official from the local game industry said that Yongsan has successfully modernized its identity.
"Yongsan was an essential place to visit for people born in the 1970s and 1980s who loved Japanese culture like animations and video games," the official said on condition of anonymity. "The space was compared to Akihabara in Tokyo. Now the area has been redeveloped into a new space, and I'Park Mall seems to be at the center of it."
He said the mall's diverse offerings appeal to a wide range of visitors across generations.
Source: Korea Times News
