Giant Seoul mall to open tomorrow

The mega-mall Times Square, owned by Kyungbang Company, will open tomorrow in Yeongdeungpo, western Seoul. [YONHAP]

Times Square, the nation’s first “hybrid mall” with both indoor and outdoor stores, opens tomorrow in the Yeongdeungpo area of southwestern Seoul.

“The opening will start a new era in the development of Korea’s multi-complex shopping mall industry,” said Kim Dam, president of Times Square, at a press conference yesterday. “The mall will develop similarly to Pacific Place in Hong Kong or Tokyo Midtown.”

It took a budget of 600 billion won ($489.4 million) to build the 370,000-square-meter complex, which is larger than Shinsegae Centum City in Busan (293,000 square meters). At the press conference, Kyungbang said it planned the interior so that visitors would be able to shop conveniently and rest along the way.

“Right up until the opening, we changed the layout several times to make visitors feel the one-stop mall was as convenient as possible,” said a Kyungbang official.

Major tenants include a Shinsegae Department Store, a Kyobo Book Centre, a CGV cinema, a meeting and wedding hall, an E-Mart and a Kolon Sporex luxury fitness center. Fashion brands located within the complex include large branches of Zara and Mango in the “global fashion town zone” on the first floor.

Some businesses are opening their first Korean branches at Times Square, including the Courtyard by Marriott, the American natural cosmetics store Burt’s Bees and premium denim brand Seven Jeans.

Kyungbang expects annual rental revenue to be 50 to 60 billion won.

By Lee Eun-joo [angie@joongang.co.kr]