Emart24 offering NYT, Korea JoongAng Daily subscriptions

A model showcases Cho Yong-pil's limited edition USB album at an Emart24 store. [EMART24]

Emart24 is offering subscriptions to The New York Times (NYT) and the Korea JoongAng Daily through its convenience stores.

It makes Emart24 one of the first convenience store franchises to expand its product lineup to cover cultural items such as newspaper subscriptions and limited editions of music albums.

The purchase of the subscription at the convenience store will only be available until Sept. 15. A three-month subscription is 89,900 won ($68).

The subscription package includes The New York Times from Monday to Saturday, the Korea JoongAng Daily from Monday to Friday, Think English (Korea JoongAng Daily's 12-page English-language study guide) every Monday, and T Magazine on specific dates. The Korea JoongAng Daily is a publishing partner of The New York Times.

Subscribers will also receive added benefits, including a New York Times official three-fold umbrella and a $24 worth of access for a New York Times digital account.

Customers can make their purchases through the Emart24 app and details are confirmed through a phone call.

While The New York Times and Korea JoongAng Daily are typically available for subscription through their respective websites and external platforms like Coupang and Naver, this collaboration with convenience stores introduces an offline channel for subscriptions.

"We have decided to offer The New York Times subscriptions based on the steady trend of using The New York Times articles for English language learning," Emart24 explained through a press release Monday. "This strategy aims to establish Emart24 as a special brand for customers who value differentiation and uniqueness, with the goal of securing long-term loyalty."

In an additional offering, Emart24 exclusively sells the limited edition music album "Road to 20–Prelude 2" by Korean pop legend Cho Yong-pil until Sept. 10.

This is the first for the convenience store chain to offer music album sales, featuring four new songs from Cho, a veteran who has released 19 regular albums over a 55-year career.

The album, available in USB format, is produced in a limited quantity of 1,500 copies and was previously exclusively attainable at Cho's live concert venues.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]