"Expanding Offline Touchpoints"... A Look Inside Upbit Lounge, a Healing Space in the City

[Financial News] The scent of grass fills the air as soon as you enter. Trees are placed throughout the center, and a scent-diffusing system releases fragrances to match the seasonal videos playing on a large LED screen. Sitting in a chair and watching the video to the gentle music, I was able to focus on relaxing and forget that I was in downtown Gangnam.
I visited Upbit Lounge, located on the first and second floors of Mirim Tower in Seoul's Gangnam District, on the 13th. On the 22nd of last month, the lounge reopened after being renovated from a center focused on customer consultations into a “multifunctional brand experience space.”
On the first floor, visitors could find an information desk for general assistance as well as Upbitree Garden, a space for environmental, social and governance (ESG) projects. Videos themed around the four seasons play on a large LED screen, and visitors can sit on chairs surrounding the screen and relax as they watch. The aim is to offer office workers a “healing space” after work, even at a time when it is difficult to visit a forest, using large-screen videos, the sounds of nature and scents.
The videos featured not only relaxation but also Dunamu's ESG activities. In the video depicting spring, visitors could see the Seed Vault NFT Collection, a long-term project Dunamu undertook as part of “trees,” one of its ESG management keywords. The project involves creating and issuing NFTs of images of major plant seeds stored at the Seed Vault, a seed conservation facility operated by the Korea Arboreta and Gardens Institute (KAGI.
The oval wooden chair on display was also an upcycled chair made from PET bottles collected by Dunamu employees over the course of a year. The chair bears the words, “PET bottles collected one by one have become a wonderful stool. A great miracle made possible by our small actions.” Park Gyeong-ho, head of Dunamu's ESG Impact Team, explained, “Upbit is a virtual asset exchange, but its employees also take part in ESG activities and contribute to society.”
Visitors could also try making their own keycaps. Customers visiting the lounge can receive a mind assessment and make personalized keycaps. The process involves combining recommended plants in a small flowerpot-shaped mold. Mr. Park said, “The keycaps are made up of 12 plant species native to Korea,” adding, “It's a program run in partnership with the Environment Foundation.”


On the second floor, there was space for both relaxation and customer consultations. An elderly visitor was in the middle of a consultation in one of the consultation rooms. Most visitors to the site are older people who are not familiar with mobile applications (apps). In addition to the regular consultation desk, open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., a “private consultation room” was also available by prior request.
The distinctive dynamism of a virtual asset exchange was also on display. A large market board covering an entire wall shows coin-related information in real time, while a ticker running across the top of the space makes the state of the coin market visible at a glance from anywhere in the second-floor lounge.


Another area, next to the consultation desk, is home to the “Brand Wall,” which brings together the elements that define Upbit. Key activities are neatly laid out on panels, including the history of its operator, Dunamu, the status of its global business, and GIWA, its blockchain infrastructure. There is also a space displaying the company's past awards. Pressing the structures, neatly arranged by year like books on a bookshelf, makes hidden award certificates pop out.
Interactive content for visitors also stood out. At the Upbi-ti kiosk, visitors can take a short survey to assess their investment preferences and receive recommendations for personalized services.
A Dunamu representative explained, “The core values of this renovation are customer engagement, ESG and relaxation,” adding, “Since we have mainly interacted with customers through the app as a non-face-to-face channel, we considered expanding our offline points of contact with customers our top priority.”

[email protected] Im Sang-hyeok Reporter