The Hyundai Seoul Christmas Guide: Pop-ups, Food Hall and Sounds Forest

Seoul Culture • Korea Travel • Lifestyle & Slow Living

The Hyundai Seoul in December is a full-scale experience. Part Christmas festival, part pop-up playground, and part architectural spectacle designed by Pritzker-winning architect Richard Rogers. I spent a weekend wandering through the young-culture B2 floor, the chaotic B1 food hall, and the sunlit atrium cafés, and ended up rediscovering why this place has become Seoul's favourite winter ritual.

The Hyundai Seoul in December – part shopping mall, part indoor winter park, part pop-up wonderland.

Girls’ night in Yeouido, and the only obvious answer, The Hyundai

A few nights ago I stayed over at a friend’s flat in Yeouido for a proper girls’ night – the kind where you talk until the kettle gives up and your skincare ends up happening at ridiculous o’clock. When we woke up the next morning, slightly puffy and very chatty, there was only one place that made sense for a December weekend: The Hyundai Seoul.

Yeouido on the outside, theatre on the inside.

Yeouido has always felt very business on the outside, but The Hyundai is pure theatre on the inside. High glass ceilings, light pouring down like a spotlight, and floor after floor that feels more like a mini city than a department store. At Christmas, it turns the drama up even further – forest of lights, oversized ornaments, grown adults quietly posing with giant bears. Exactly my kind of seasonal chaos.

Why The Hyundai Seoul Feels Like Theatre

The building itself is doing more work than you realise.

The Hyundai Seoul was designed by Sir Richard Rogers, the Pritzker Prize–winning architect behind Paris’ Centre Pompidou and London’s Millennium Dome. And you feel that lineage the moment you step inside. This is not a closed, polished department store. It is open, breathing, full of voids and light.

Instead of pushing you from counter to counter, the architecture pulls your gaze upward. Floating floors, wide sightlines, huge glass ceilings that flood the space with daylight even on grey winter mornings. The centre atrium feels almost civic, like a modern indoor plaza rather than a commercial hall.

That design choice is the reason people linger here. Why you sit down without checking the time. Why conversations stretch. Why even at peak Christmas chaos, the space never quite feels suffocating.

Rogers once described architecture as something that should improve how people feel in a city. The Hyundai Seoul quietly proves that point every weekend. It slows your body down before you even notice it happening.

You don’t just walk through this building.

You soften inside it.

The Hyundai Seoul – quick facts before you go

• Address: 108 Yeoui-daero, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul (더현대 서울)
• Architect: Sir Richard Rogers – the Pritzker Prize-winning architect behind Paris’ Centre Pompidou and London’s Millennium Dome.
• Concept: “Retail park in the city” with huge indoor garden, natural light and a softer, slower take on the classic department store.
• Hours (typical): Mon–Thu 10:30–20:00, Fri–Sun 10:30–20:30 (restaurants often until 22:00 – always check recent info before you go).
• How to get there: Connected by underground walkway from Yeouido Station (Lines 5, 9, exit 3) and Yeouinaru Station (Line 5, exit 1).
• Parking: Check the Hyundai Department Store app for monthly free parking coupons and spend-based parking benefits.
• Good to know: Weekends after lunch are peak “human sea” mode – arrive at opening or go later evening if you prefer oxygen.

B1 food hall reality check: too many good options, not enough patience

We started, very optimistically, by heading down to B1. The plan was simple. Quick lunch in the food hall, then a slow wander. Reality. Absolutely everyone in Seoul had apparently had the same idea.

B1 at The Hyundai is where Korea’s food trends come to stretch their legs, and where patience quietly evaporates. By December 2025, the usual suspects were already in full queue mode. Eggslut (에그슬럿) drawing a steady line well past lunchtime. Five Guys (파이브가이즈) swelling into a weekend commitment. Cafe Layered (카페 레이어드) looking deceptively calm until you noticed the slow-moving pastry queue. Ginza Bairin (긴자바이린) pulling diners into orderly but determined waits for proper tonkatsu. Hao’sum (하오썸) doing the same for Hong Kong–style comfort dishes.

It smells like ten different cravings at once. Butter from the bakeries, frying oil from the burger grills, rich broth drifting up from noodle counters, coffee, sugar, something sweet you cannot quite place. You drift from counter to counter doing that hopeful scan, mentally weighing hunger against how much standing around you are willing to tolerate.

We did that slightly hopeful loop. “Let’s just see the queue, maybe it is not that bad.” And of course it was. Lines curling politely around corners, people clutching queue tickets, couples quietly negotiating whether this was a 20-minute wait or a full lunchtime commitment. We looked at each other, looked at the boards again, and collectively decided that friendship is strong, but not strong enough for a 60-minute lunchtime queue.

B1 food hall – how to eat well without losing your mind

• What it feels like: High-energy, trend-led food court with everything from hearty Korean rice dishes to Detroit pizza, solo hotpot, bakeries and dessert bars.
• Typical wait: Popular places can run 30–60 minutes at weekend lunch and dinner times.
• When to go: Aim for early lunch (around opening) or a very late afternoon meal if you want to avoid long queues.
• Queue hacks: Many tenants support remote waiting or queue tickets – check The Hyundai app or each brand’s Naver page on the day.
• Plan B: If every counter is packed, head upstairs to the restaurant floors – we ended up escaping to EATALY and did not regret it.

Escaping to EATALY: a small Italian detour in the middle of Yeouido

A small Italian detour when B1 is in full queue Olympics.

In the end we abandoned the food hall strategy and went up to EATALY instead. There is something very comforting about taking a lift from peak-Korean bustle straight into a bright Italian dining room full of pasta bowls and wine glasses.

EATALY at The Hyundai feels a bit like a tiny slice of holiday – open kitchen, shelves lined with olive oil and tins of tomatoes, big windows washing everything in soft light. We ordered the kind of dishes that make you instantly slower: proper pasta, crisp salad, something cheesy to share, and coffee we absolutely did not need but ordered anyway.

It is not the cheapest lunch in Seoul, but on a day when B1 queues feel like a competitive sport, sitting down to a decent plate of food and actual chairs felt luxurious enough.

EATALY at The Hyundai Seoul

• What it is: Italian market-style restaurant and grocery, with pasta, pizza, antipasti and desserts in one bright, European-feeling space.
• Best for: Proper sit-down meals when the B1 food hall is overwhelming, catch-ups with friends, a glass of wine mid-shopping.
• Vibe: Lively but more relaxed than the food court. Lots of natural light, open kitchen and shelves of Italian products for browsing.
• Tip: Try to avoid peak Korean meal times; check Naver for recent reviews and wait times before you head up.

B2: young culture, blind-box temptations and my POP MART weakness

B2 is where “just browsing” goes to die.

After lunch, we went down to the level that feels like The Hyundai’s real heartbeat: B2. If B1 is about eating, B2 is about energy. This is where the young-culture brands, character goods, streetwear corners and pop-ups cluster together and quietly empty people’s bank accounts.

The atmosphere is very “I am just browsing” until you realise your hands are full of things you did not know you needed. Character goods, cute ceramics, indie accessories, limited-edition collaborations – it is like someone gave your social media feed a physical form and put it under department store lighting.

And at the centre of my personal downfall: POP MART.

The La BouBou dolls are worse in real life.

The La BouBou dolls are worse in real life. Rows of big-eyed figures staring back at you with the exact level of cuteness that makes your self-control flicker. Around us, collectors were studying blind-box designs with the concentration of exam prep, quietly calculating the odds of getting “that one” figure. Even near closing time there was still a small crowd hovering, half pretending they were “just looking”, half negotiating with themselves about whether one more box would hurt.

I told myself I was only there to “have a look”. You can imagine how that ended.

Current pop-ups at The Hyundai Seoul (as of December 2025)

• PINGU × TAENG-GEU
  11–17 December 2025 · B2 Iconic Zone
  A winter-themed character collaboration featuring Pingu and Taeng-Geu, with photo spots and limited merchandise. Expect queues and a very phone-heavy crowd.
• JJINGNYANG’S TWINKLE! SNOWYLAND
  5–17 December 2025 · B1 Grand Hall
  A snowy, character-led pop-up with playful installations and collectible goods, popular with families and fans of cute seasonal collaborations.
• SKIMS Holiday Pop-up
  21 November – 30 December 2025 · Location varies
  A seasonal SKIMS edit featuring holiday colours and limited items. Floor placement may change during the run.
• Harry’s Christmas Workshop
  1 November – 31 December 2025 · 5F Sounds Forest
  The main Christmas installation at The Hyundai, with oversized sets, festive photo zones and a full winter atmosphere under the glass ceiling.

Note: Pop-ups change quickly and entry rules can vary. For last-minute updates, check The Popply pop-up calendar or the Hyundai Department Store app on the day of your visit.

B2 pop-ups & collaborations at The Hyundai Seoul

• What to expect: A constantly rotating line-up of pop-ups spanning character collaborations, fashion launches, beauty brands and limited-edition lifestyle concepts.
• Typical themes: Seasonal characters, blind-box collectibles, K-fashion brands, global labels testing the Korean market, and Instagram-first installations.
• POP MART presence: A permanent anchor on B2, drawing collectors for La BouBou, 52TOYS and other blind-box series. Even if you do not plan to buy, it is part of the floor’s energy.
• How to keep up: Follow @thehyundai_seoul and The Hyundai Kakao channel – big pop-ups often use timed entry or advance reservations.
• How often it changes: New pop-ups appear almost every week, which is why repeat visits never feel the same.

Tip: For the most up-to-date pop-up schedules, follow The Popply pop-up calendar or check the Hyundai Department Store app before your visit.

5F Sounds Forest: indoor park, Godiva balcony and a pause from the crowds

From my last Christmas visit. Sounds Forest on the 5th floor transformed into a theatrical
winter village, all tents, balloons and festive drama.

Every visit to The Hyundai eventually drifts towards one place: Sounds Forest on the fifth floor. It is a huge indoor garden that makes you forget you are technically still inside a department store. Tall trees, natural light, people sprawled on benches and steps, all under a glass ceiling that turns the whole space into a soft winter greenhouse.

Godiva balcony seats. The best reset button in the building.

We grabbed drinks and ice cream from the Godiva counter and found seats along the balcony rail. From there you can look down over the forest, watch kids pointing at the decorations, couples trying to get the perfect photo and grandparents quietly people-watching with takeaway coffee. It feels a bit like sitting in the gallery of a theatre, watching a very gentle play about modern life.

If the lower floors are where the energy happens, this is where you remember to breathe again.

Christmas at The Hyundai – Sounds Forest & Harry’s Workshop

• Theme (2025): Atelier de Noël – “Harry’s Christmas Workshop”, with the bear character Harry helping Santa prepare gifts.
• Period: 1 November – 31 December 2025, centred around the 5F Sounds Forest.
• What to expect: Oversized decorations, themed sets, photo zones and a full-on festive mood without having to freeze outside.
• Booking: Popular photo spots and special events often run on a reservation basis via Instagram or Kakao notices. Slots can go fast, so turn on notifications.
• Photo tip: Balcony seats by Godiva make a great vantage point for wide shots of the forest and decorations.

ALT.1, exhibitions and why The Hyundai feels like a mini city

One of my favourite things about The Hyundai is that it does not stop at shopping and eating. If you go up to the exhibition space ALT.1, the whole mood shifts again. The current line-up includes shows like “Alphonse Mucha: Light and Dreams” and media-focused pop-ups that feel closer to a museum visit than a quick mall event.

You wander from neon-lit character zones and B1 food queues straight into softly lit galleries, and your brain does a tiny double take. It makes the whole place feel less like a department store and more like a very curated mini city, where you can shop, eat, people-watch and then quietly feed your brain for an hour.

Cultural stops inside The Hyundai Seoul

• ALT.1: Dedicated exhibition space hosting art, design and media shows (e.g. Alphonse Mucha: Light and Dreams, seasonal media art projects).
• 6F events: Rotating media and music pop-ups, artist collaborations and brand experiences – check current schedule before your visit.
• Parking perks: Many exhibitions include parking benefits (e.g. 2 hours free) when you validate your ticket, which helps balance out the mall parking stress.
• Plan: If you are doing a full day, consider: B2 pop-ups → B1 walk-through → lunch → exhibition → coffee at 5F → evening wander.

Practical survival tips: queues, timing and how not to burn out

Because The Hyundai is so loved, it can also be exhausting if you go in blind. A few small tweaks make a big difference. Go early if you can. Book where possible. Decide in advance whether your day is mainly for pop-ups, food or slow wandering, because trying to do everything will just turn your brain into a to-do list with LED lighting.

On our visit we kept it simple: one proper meal, one POP MART detour, one coffee-and-ice-cream balcony break and a slow loop through the Christmas forest. It felt like just enough – festive without being swallowed whole by it.

The Hyundai Seoul – visiting strategy

• Best days: Weekdays if you can. If not, aim for early morning or later evening on weekends.
• Food planning: Decide in advance whether you will brave B1 queues or head straight to restaurant floors like EATALY.
• Pop-up priorities: Check current pop-ups and pick one or two must-sees – trying to visit every single one is a fast track to decision fatigue.
• Transport: If you are visiting on a peak weekend, public transport is often calmer than fighting for a parking spot.
• Feet-saving tip: Build in a pause at 5F Sounds Forest – balcony seats, coffee and people-watching do wonders for your energy levels.

Festival mood, friendship, no shopping-bag trope

That warm, slightly floaty festival afterglow.

By the time we left, nothing felt rushed or overdone. No frantic last sweep of floors, no pressure to tick things off. Just that warm, slightly floaty feeling you get when a day has unfolded exactly as it should.

The Hyundai in December does that to you. It wraps the city’s intensity in lights, trees and soft noise, then hands it back gentler. Somewhere between the Christmas installations, the balcony pause and the easy wandering with friends, the day started to feel less like shopping and more like a small holiday hidden inside Seoul.

We stepped back out into Yeouido with flushed cheeks, half-frozen hands and that unmistakable festival afterglow. The kind where you feel closer to the people you were with, lighter in your head and oddly grateful for doing absolutely nothing productive at all.

Not a checklist day. Not a content day.

Just a good winter day, spent well, with friends.

And honestly, that’s the kind of luxury I keep coming back for.

If you want more Seoul wandering after Yeouido, you might like Haebangchon, But Make It a Date or a calmer Seongsu reset at Seongsu 025S Tea House.

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