CJ Olive Young Opens Busan’s Largest Store Outside the Seoul Metropolitan Area to Target Foreign Tourists

[Financial News] CJ Olive Young is expanding its reach among foreign tourists by opening Busan’s largest store outside the Seoul metropolitan area.
CJ Olive Young said on the 2nd that Olive Young Nampo Town in Nampo-dong and Olive Young Millak the Market in Millak-dong recently opened.
Nampo Town was developed based on Central Myeongdong Town, a store specializing in global customers. The existing single-story, 661-square-meter store, equivalent to about 200 pyeong, was relocated and expanded into a four-story, 2,975-square-meter facility, or about 900 pyeong.
The store’s layout and operations were designed using data on foreign customers, while dedicated skincare and sheet-mask areas reflect foreign tourists’ preferences. Three Beauty Consultants, the first to be deployed outside the Seoul metropolitan area, provide skin diagnoses and personalized counseling. More staff are assigned during the daytime, when cruise tourists arrive in large numbers.
Olive Young Millak the Market was designed as a store specializing in tourism-focused content.
The store recreates an unusual space resembling a seafood market, based on the concept of a fictional vessel called “Ol-yeong-ho” docked at Millak Port with popular K-beauty products on board. Port-themed decorations, including nets, boats and posters at the entrance, blend with views of Gwangan Bridge and Millak Port outside the windows to create the image of a port city. Reflecting the interests of people in their 20s and 30s and global tourists, the store also offers food and beverages. It introduced the first freezer at an Olive Young store and stocks snacks, inner-beauty products and wellness items. Taking into account the characteristics of the nighttime commercial district, it extended its operating hours until 11 p.m.
Busan emerged as the most visited tourism destination among cities outside the Seoul metropolitan area last year, recording 3.1 million foreign tourists. Growth has also accelerated, with the number of foreign tourists reaching 2.42 million in the first half of this year, up 43.9% from the same period last year. The number of cruise tourists is expected to rise nearly fourfold, from 257,000 last year to 990,000 this year.
Olive Young plans to expand flagship stores in major hubs outside the Seoul metropolitan area, including Jeju, Gangwon, Gyeongsang and Jeolla, where the number of foreign visitors is increasing, to build tourism infrastructure based on K-beauty.
An Olive Young official said, “Busan, where global tourists gather, is one of the key stages for leading the globalization of K-beauty. We will continue to pursue offline innovation by carefully combining the unique appeal of local commercial districts with customer data, becoming a shopping landmark.”
[email protected] Reporter Kang Myeong-yeon Reporter