January 17, 2024
PRESS RELEASE
Apple Hongdae welcomes its first customers in South Korea this Saturday, January 20th
The country’s seventh store welcomes the community with a special Today at Apple session with hip-hop artist Beenzino
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA Apple today unveiled Apple Hongdae, the seventh retail store in South Korea and the 100th Apple Store location in Asia Pacific. Located in the center of a bustling university district in Seoul, Apple Hongdae provides an exciting place for students, their families and the local community to discover and shop Apple’s incredible range of products and services while receiving exceptional support from highly knowledgeable team members. and attend free Today at Apple sessions to learn how to get the most out of their products.
“We couldn’t be more excited to offer our customers in Korea something special earlier this year with the opening of the all-new Apple Hongdae,” said Deirdre O’Brien, Apple’s senior vice president of retail. “By combining the latest Apple technology with the creative passion of the local community, this new store will build on the exceptional connection we have with our customers in Korea. Our team members look forward to welcoming customers and helping them discover the latest products and services, including the iPhone 15 lineup.”
Apple Hongdae has nearly 100 experienced retail team members to help customers explore and get their hands on the latest Apple products, including the latest iPhone 15 series; the new Mac series with the M3 chip family; the Apple Watch range, featuring Apple’s first carbon-neutral products; and the Lunar New Year special edition AirPods Pro debuting in South Korea, celebrating the Year of the Blue Dragon.
Just in time for back-to-school, students and families can save on a Mac or iPad with Apple Education Pricing, available exclusively at Apple Retail. Additionally, eligible customers can take advantage of the student offer, which runs through March 13, and receive AirPods when they purchase an eligible Mac or an Apple Pencil when they purchase an eligible iPad.
Apple Hongdae will be an exciting destination for the next generation of developers to learn how to get the most out of their devices and unlock their potential with Today at Apple. To create a space for learning and a more personalized customer experience, the store features a roundtable where attendees can learn how to get started with their new devices, discover features of the latest Apple products, or participate in sessions focused on focus on a variety of topics.
From January through March, Apple is hosting a series of free Today at Apple sessions for students to try out Mac and iPad and learn new skills that will boost their creativity and help them excel in college. As part of the “Bring on College with Apple” series, students can register for four workshops led by Apple Creatives, available at Apple Hongdae and all other Apple Store locations across Korea:
- Create powerful presentations in Keynote on Mac
- Create personalized documents in Pages on Mac
- Create effective spreadsheets in Numbers on Mac
- Transform your lecture notes with iPad
Participants can register now Today at Apple Sessions.
Starting January 20, customers can also check out a brand new Today at Apple Pop-Up Studio with legendary hip-hop artist and entrepreneur Beenzino every day at 5 p.m. In the “Explore Freeform on iPad” session, customers can use Freeform to collect ideas, art, photos, and more for their own 2024 vision boards. Additionally, the session will highlight the inspiration behind the artist’s single “Train,” recently released on Spatial Audio and available only on Apple Music. This session is exclusive to Apple Hongdae and runs for the entire month. Starting February 9, the session will be available in stores across South Korea, Japan and Australia as part of the Bring on College with Apple campaign.
As part of Apple’s environmental commitment, Apple Hongdae was equipped with organic terrazzo flooring made from plant-based materials and acoustic fabric wall and ceiling panels. Like all Apple facilities, the site is powered by 100 percent renewable energy and is carbon neutral. Apple Hongdae has a dedicated Apple pickup station, making it easier for customers to pick up purchases made online at a time that suits them.
Apple opened its first store in South Korea, Apple Garosugil, in 2018. Since then, Apple has expanded its presence in the country by opening stores in Yeouido, Myeongdong, Jamsil, Gangnam and Hanam. Apple also launched the Apple Developer Academy in Korea, producing its second class of graduates, and the Apple Manufacturing R&D Accelerator to provide free tools and training programs to small and medium-sized businesses across the country. Apple is also actively collaborating with a number of Korean artists across various industries: last year, the company released a shot-on-iPhone music video for the song “ETA” by popular K-pop group New Jeans, following a made-on-iPad 2022 music video for the song “Bite” by hip-hop artist Jay Park.
The Apple Hongdae team will welcome its first customers on Saturday, January 20th at 10am
About Apple
Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple TV. Apple’s five software platforms – iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS – provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and provide people with groundbreaking services such as the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay and iCloud. Apple’s more than 100,000 employees are committed to making the world’s best products and leaving the world better than we found it.
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