Apple Treats K-Pop Fans to Spatial Audio Experience at New Gangnam Store, South Korea

Apple is opening its fifth retail store in South Korea this Friday, and the company has enlisted K-pop girl band NewJeans to woo the country's users, reports Bloomberg.

newjeans k pop

K-pop girl band NewJeans

The new store will be located in the central Gangnam district of Seoul, the capital city of South Korea, and in a promotional event on Wednesday, Apple set up a pop-up studio inside the new store where visitors could listen to an exclusive version of NewJean's hit song "OMG" recorded in spatial audio.

The marketing strategy of involving a K-pop band isn't new in South Korea – Samsung has a BTS edition of its Galaxy S20+ smartphone there – with such collaborations often going viral online.

As Bloomberg notes, the move is another signal that Apple is ramping up its post-pandemic offensive in the key Asian growth market. Apple Pay went live in South Korea earlier this month, and local media reports that there are plans in place to open a sixth store in Seoul this year. The capital would then have more Apple Stores than there are in Tokyo, Japan.

Apple Gangnam is Apple's first new retail store to open since Apple American Dream opened in New Jersey in December. Apple now has a retail team of nearly 800 on the ground in South Korea, according to Patrick Schuerpf, director of Apple's retail business in Asia.  

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Top Rated Comments

Ion-X Avatar
29 months ago

Kpop is cancer
Opposing an entire language and culture of music is short-sighted and ignorant. That’s like saying you don’t like Spanish music because you heard one Bad Bunny song and couldn’t understand it.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
klasma Avatar
29 months ago

No one in he picture is wearing new jeans. I don’t see any denim fabric.
There you go:

Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
anthogag Avatar
29 months ago
No one in he picture is wearing new jeans. I don’t see any denim fabric. K-what?
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Razorpit Avatar
29 months ago
We need a dedicated K-Pop app ASAP! ?
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
klasma Avatar
29 months ago
That's certainly better than forcing a U2 album onto everyone.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Leon Ze Professional Avatar
29 months ago
"exclusive version of NewJean's hit song "OMG" recorded in spatial audio."

OMG Tim and Craig, where the hell are you, its Gangnam time?
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)