Olive Young, Musinsa, others expand in Korea beyond Seoul in hunt for new customers

An Olive Young store in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang [OLIVE YOUNG]

 
Just as online stores appeared to be pushing their physical counterparts to the brink, offline shops in regional areas are making an unexpected comeback.
 
Beauty and fashion retailers are expanding their operations beyond the greater Seoul region by opening new stores and investing heavily in local markets as they make efforts to use shifting shopping habits to their advantage and to attract new customers while retaining those who still value in-person experiences.
 

Related Article

• Online shopping hits record high for February powered by Lunar New Year agricultural sales

• New Olive Young Central Myeongdong Town aims for optimal shopping experience

• Online shopping sales rise 8.6 percent in January on food delivery services: Data

 
CJ Olive Young will invest 123.8 billion won ($84 million) this year to open and renovate stores in regional areas and strengthen its logistics infrastructure, according to the company on Thursday. The proposed amount is more than triple its 2023 investment.
 
Of the 78 large Olive Young stores, or those that measure more than 330 square meters (3,552 square feet), 43 are in areas outside the capital region.
 
Fashion brand Musinsa will also open a branch at the Shinsegae Department Store in Gwangju, its first in the Jeolla region, on Thursday. The opening follows earlier expansions into the central city of Daejeon and the Gyeongsang region, with store openings in Busan, Daegu and Ulsan.
 
Retailers had previously been reluctant to open stores in areas outside the capital region due to their lower population density. Seoul has a population density of 15,365 people per square kilometer (2.6 square miles), far exceeding the national average of 531, according to government statistics. 
 
Its population density also far exceeds that of major cities — such as Busan, with 4,223 people per square kilometer, and Gwangju, with 2,883, making it difficult for stores outside of Seoul to attract large numbers of visitors.
 
Despite this, many companies have recently decided to launch stores in regions outside the capital.
 
In the greater Seoul area, where major brand stores are already common, consumers tend to purchase products that they are familiar with online. Consumers outside the capital, by contrast, have fewer opportunities to see or try new products in person, which creates demand for offline experiences.
 

The lobby of the new Musinsa Standard store in Daegu [MUSINSA]

 
“Online shopping tends to be goal-oriented, meaning consumers purchase products or brands that they are already familiar with,” a fashion industry source said. “But offline shopping allows consumers to discover products [...] and test them, leading to more spontaneous purchases and attracting new customers.”
 
Moreover, thanks to the growing number of foreign tourists traveling beyond the capital, the retail demand in non-Seoul areas is rising, particularly among solo travelers from Japan and China.
 
CJ Olive Young’s share of sales from foreign customers in Busan rose from 0.1 percent in 2021 to 33.6 percent last year. On Jeju Island, the share increased from 0.1 percent to 62.9 percent over the same period, even surpassing that of domestic customers.
 

Visitors dressed in "hanbok," or traditional Korean clothing, walk around Gamcheon Culture Village in Busan on May 26, 2025. [YONHAP]

 
Areas beyond Seoul also benefit from lower operating costs, such as rent, and lower competition compared to the oversaturated capital region.
 
The average rent for small commercial spaces in Seoul stood at 52,200 won per 3.3 square meters last year, more than double that of Busan at 26,300 won and Daegu at 20,600 won, according to the Korea Real Estate Board.
 
“The top two grossing stores for last year’s major sales event were located in Daegu and Daejeon,” a CJ Olive Young representative said. “These stores can serve as 'anchor tenants' [a key store that attracts customers to the area] that bring in younger customers and tourists, contributing to local commercial activity and job creation.”


This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY CHOI HYUN-JU [lee.jiwon10@joongang.co.kr]