Sixth Korean Apple store to open in Hanam

Apple's sixth Korean retail store in Hanam, Gyeonggi. [APPLE]

Apple is set to open its sixth retail store in Hanam, Gyeonggi next month, marking the tech giant’s first offline outlet in Korea that is outside of Seoul.

Apple confirmed the location on Monday and released an image of the store's barricade imprinted with Apple's logo.

The store is set to open on Dec. 9.

“[The store] is an optimized location to meet and purchase Apple products,” the company said in a release Monday.

“Domestic customers can visit Apple Hanam and other offline retail stores to meet iPhone 15 lineup, Apple Watch lineup and soon-to-release M3 Mac lineup.”

The Cupertino, California-based company has been accelerating its offline presence in Korea recently as it strives to capture a greater share of Korea's smartphone market.

After opening its first offline store in Garosu-gil in Sinsa-dong, southern Seoul, in 2018, Apple's second Korean retail store came rather slowly, popping up three years later in Yeouido, western Seoul.

The expansion then picked up pace. A third Apple store opened in Myeong-dong, central Seoul, in 2022, followed by locations in Jamsil and Gangnam District, southern Seoul in 2022 and 2023 respectively. When the Hanam location is up and running, Apple will have opened two stores per year in 2022 and 2023.

Online communities have speculated that seventh offline outlet is opening soon in Hongdae, western Seoul. Photos depicting the exterior construction of a building resembling an Apple store have leaked.

Apple has recently started recruiting in Korea for two branches, identified merely by “Seoul east" and “Seoul west."

Hanam is located to the east of Seoul.

Apple's share of Korea's smartphone market has been increasing recently, especially as younger generations opt for iPhones over Samsung's Galaxy series.

Apple's phones accounted for 15 percent of Korea's smartphone market in the third quarter of this year, according to Counterpoint Research, an increase of 2 percentage points compared to 2022.

BY JIN EUN-SOO [jin.eunsoo@joongang.co.kr]