In the eastern part of Seoul, you can find the expansive ecological theme park “Seoul Forest.” The easiest way to get to Seoul Forest is by using the subway. By taking Subway Line 4 and getting off at Seoul Forest Station (Exit 4), you can head towards Seoul Forest.
Once you emerge from Exit 4 of the subway station, you’ll find a trendy space with stacked container boxes. This space is known as “Understand Avenue.”
“Creative Cultural Space: Understand Avenue”
Understand Avenue is a creative public cultural space created with the meaning of “Under + Stand.” It encompasses 116 containers divided into seven themed “stands” across an approximately 1,200 square meters space adjacent to Seoul Forest. Each container supports the dreams and passions of artists, youth social enterprises, and local small business owners.
Understand Avenue is a public-purpose space funded by Lotte Duty Free with 10.2 billion KRW, jointly created by Lotte Duty Free and Seongdong-gu & ARCON. It was established to serve as a cultural space for citizens in addition to supporting the self-reliance and growth of vulnerable populations.
“NCT CCOMAZ GROCERY STORE: NCT Members’ Concept-based Pop-up Store”
At “Understand Avenue,” which you can find on the way to Seoul Forest, there was a temporary space called the “NCT Pop-up Store,” named “NCT CCOMAZ GROCERY STORE.”
At a glance, this place may seem like a store selling groceries and daily necessities. However, the displayed products are for decoration purposes only and are not actually for sale.
“The Store is Designed According to the Concepts of the 22 NCT Members”
The NCT CCOMAZ Pop-up Store is decorated as individual stores according to the concepts of the 22 NCT members. It consists of two floors: the first floor is designed with a concept of a grocery store, and the second floor is designed with a concept of daily necessities.
All the displayed products are not ones that can be found in Korea, but rather items available abroad. The space is adorned with a nostalgic 80s atmosphere.
Various canned products designed to suit the retro concept are displayed, and posters with an 80s concept are exhibited on the walls. The spatial arrangement gives a feeling of viewing modern pop art.
“A Place to Sell NCT Goods”
In line with the pop-up store concept, this place sells various NCT goods. As mentioned earlier, the displayed groceries and daily necessities are not actually for sale.
In one corner of the store, you can witness the sale of NCT goods. Thanks to this, fans of NCT queued up to get goods, showing their excitement.
Moreover, there was an atmosphere of various events happening nearby, and you could see people gathering in several places.
The pop-up store was open for four weeks, from April 8, 2023, to May 7, 2023.
“Seoul Seongdong-gu, NCT CCOMAZ Pop-up Store”
- Address: 63 Wangsimni-ro, Seongdong-gu, Seoul
- Duration: April 8, 2023 – May 7, 2023