Department stores go all-in on Christmas — and the secret is in the experience

"Hyundai Department Store's Christmas style is not simply about showing beautiful decorations or objects — it is our own spatial approach, designed so that customers enter a world and follow a story."

As Christmas approaches, department stores transform themselves. Dazzling lights go up on building facades, and giant trees and Christmas villages take shape inside. What once served as simple year-end decoration has evolved into a core seasonal draw, pulling in large crowds. With food, performances and hands-on spaces now part of the mix, competition among department stores over Christmas has grown fiercer than ever.

Christmas carols filled the air at The Hyundai Seoul in Yeongdeungpo-gu on Monday morning. Stepping into H Village on the fifth floor felt like walking onto a New York street at Christmas. This year's theme focuses on recreating the look of New York in the 1980s and 1990s. Since its debut in 2022, the H Village Christmas installation at The Hyundai Seoul has drawn a cumulative 1.5 million visitors through last year.

The first thing to catch the eye was a yellow taxi parked at the center of the village. Surrounding it, buildings and shops decked out in Christmas decorations evoked the streets of New York. Props and lighting placed throughout the space recalled the city's year-end atmosphere of that era.

H Village comprises 13 buildings in total. The red-brick structures, reaching up to 10 meters in height, reflect the architectural style of New York at the time. Details such as rooftop water tanks, large billboards and neon signs add to the effect. A subway entrance, a hot dog cart and a newsstand line the street — all designed to deepen the sense of actually walking through New York.

The space is filled with more than buildings. Cultural elements of 1980s and 1990s New York — music, graffiti and vintage signage — are woven throughout. The Christmas lighting breaks from the usual all-white palette, incorporating red, yellow, pink, purple, blue and green. Even pigeons, the uninvited guests of any city street, make an appearance.

Another defining feature of this year's H Village is a single narrative thread running through the entire space. At its center is a story about cats delivering gifts. More than 40 cats — including the leader Heyhey and a yellow cat named Hihi — appear throughout the New York streetscape. Even the cats' eyes were carefully crafted, giving visitors the feeling of being watched.

Hyundai Department Store's own history is hidden throughout the space as well. A newspaper symbolizing 1985, the year the store first opened, and a vehicle bearing the license plate "HDS-1985" are among the most prominent references. The phone numbers on building signs also reflect the opening dates of key branches — a way for visitors to discover the store's history naturally as they explore the village.

Food and shopping are part of the offering too. Seven brands selling food and beverages, vinyl records and accessories occupy the 13 buildings. An LP listening cafe, a bakery cafe and a candy shop recreate the everyday stores of New York. The space is designed so visitors can eat, listen to music and shop — not just admire the decorations.

One standout tenant is See's Candies, a well-known American dessert brand. Founded in the United States in 1921, See's Candies currently operates one store in South Korea. In its home market, the brand is so closely associated with the holiday season that people say you have not truly received a Christmas candy if it is not from See's.

Jung Min-gyu, the visual merchandising manager who led this year's H Village, said he hoped "more people will come and touch and experience things in person," adding that the team "worked hard to create a Christmas that everyone can enjoy." To prepare the installation, the VMD team visited Christmas markets in various countries, including the Czech Republic.

Christmas decorations at South Korean department stores are believed to have taken root in earnest in the 1970s. Shinsegae Department Store was the first to launch a Christmas event, beginning with exterior decorations at its main branch in the early 1970s. Drawing on the tradition of Christmas window displays at overseas department stores, the event became a fixture of the year-end calendar — which is also why stores have long sought to recreate the street atmosphere of the United States, the United Kingdom and other countries.

Department store Christmas events have grown more elaborate with each passing year. Shinsegae introduced a media facade on the exterior of its main branch in 2014, using the building's outer wall as a giant screen to project Christmas videos. The display has since become a go-to spot for commemorative photos, drawing crowds every year. The store begins planning and production as early as February each year.

Hyundai Department Store launched H Village, a large-scale Christmas village, at The Hyundai Seoul in 2022. Unlike other locations, the store sits adjacent to an apartment complex, making exterior decoration difficult, so it turned to its interior space instead. Lotte Department Store held its first Christmas market at Jamsil World Park in 2023, drawing an enthusiastic response — advance reservations sold out early and customers lined up for opening-run entry.

This year, four major department store chains are each pursuing distinct concepts to attract year-end shoppers. Lotte Department Store will run the "2026 Lotte Town Christmas Market" at the outdoor lawn of Jamsil World Park for 46 days, from Nov. 19 through Jan. 3 next year. This year's theme is 19th-century Britain, considered the origin of the modern Christmas market. The event will also tie in with a massive media facade — 77 meters wide and 21 meters tall — on the exterior of the Sogong-dong main branch.

A 2,640-square-meter space will recreate a British winter streetscape, featuring a 17-meter clock tower and a two-story carousel. More than 40 booths will sell food, fashion and character merchandise. The lineup includes Lotte Wellfood's "Kancho Detective House," a collaboration between fashion brand Barbour and "Wallace & Gromit," and other content spanning both group affiliates and outside brands. Since the market's inaugural run in 2023, cumulative visitors through last year have exceeded 1.1 million.

Shinsegae Department Store will create its Christmas atmosphere through "Shinsegae Square," the media facade on the exterior of its main branch. This year's video centers on a fantastical journey to deliver Christmas wishes, using 3D anamorphic techniques and a 60-piece orchestra to heighten immersion. Inside the store, a holiday market selling Christmas decorations and gifts will expand beyond previous years, operating at four branches — the Gangnam store, the main branch, Daejeon Shinsegae and Centum City.

Galleria Department Store will present Christmas exterior decorations at its luxury goods hall in Seoul in collaboration with Italian luxury brand Loro Piana. The display features a large Christmas tree alongside a tree woven from straw, layered with golden lights and star-shaped ornaments.

The effort department stores put into Christmas decorations goes beyond simply creating a festive atmosphere. The strategy is to use large installations and distinctive themed spaces to give people a reason to visit, draw them inside and convert that foot traffic into additional spending on food, beverages and shopping. The spread of decoration and event photos through SNS has also made the installations an effective driver of visitor numbers.

The displays also help imprint brand awareness on foreign tourists accustomed to Christmas market culture. As of Oct. 6, Lotte Department Store became the first department store in South Korea to surpass 1 trillion won ($736 million) in cumulative sales to foreign customers. Shinsegae Department Store and Hyundai Department Store are both approaching the same milestone.