At 7 p.m., outside Shinsegae Department Store in Myeongdong, the city transforms. Smartphone cameras rise in unison toward a colossal LED screen—not to capture a moment, but to witness one. Foreign tourists pause mid-stride. Shopping bags drop to their sides. The image unfolding on a screen the size of a basketball court is not merely an advertisement (광고). It is Seoul's visual message to the world.
In November 2024, Samsung Electronics installed an outdoor LED signage (사이니지) at Shinsegae's flagship store in Jung-gu, Seoul. Unveiled alongside the "2024 Lights Up SEOUL, KOREA" initiative, this installation transcended the conventional definition of a digital billboard. Shinsegae declared it the "hub of K-culture (한류 문화)." The language may sound like corporate rhetoric, yet it captures something precise: how a city constructs cultural identity through technological infrastructure (기술 인프라).
When Technology Becomes Landmark
Times Square in New York. Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo. Piccadilly Circus in London. What do these places share? A singular truth: colossal digital screens have become urban icons. Now Seoul has joined their ranks.
Shinsegae Square in Myeongdong transcends daily advertising content. Each December, it transforms into a Christmas media façade (미디어 파사드), drawing crowds of spectators. A decade of global patronage culminated in its rebirth as "Shinsegae Square"—a tourist destination, a social media authentication site, and a K-culture landmark.
Similarly, Gwanghwamun Square, which began operations in 2025, demonstrates creative and innovative outdoor advertising that threads history, culture, and tourism together. The square presents a coexistence of past, present, and future. The historical symbolism of Gwanghwamun and its expansive avenue create vivid experiences with substantial synergistic effects alongside neighboring cultural heritage.
Gangnam COEX: Digital Signage as Urban Branding
In March 2018, an LED signage emerged on the exterior wall of COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. At the time, it was Korea's largest. Spanning four basketball courts—a total area of 1,620 square meters—the screen was completed after seven months of installation. The location itself is significant. COEX is a pilgrimage site for K-POP (케이팝) fans, where enthusiasts from around the world converge. Behind their photographs now stands Samsung's colossal LED screen. This is the intersection where K-POP cultural content meets Korean technology hardware.
In 2017, Seoul designated the COEX and World Trade Center area in Gangnam-gu as Korea's first outdoor advertising free display zone. The project's objective was unambiguous: "elevate Seoul's brand value through global digital media landmarks, activate regional economies, and create new tourist destinations." The strategy's essence lies in integrating signage not as mere advertising media, but as integral to urban experience (도시 경험). Just as New York evokes Times Square's neon signs, Seoul now evokes the towering LED screens of Myeongdong and Gangnam. This is how technology becomes culture (기술이 문화가 된다).
Seoul Subway: Digital Infrastructure Woven Into Daily Life
Yet the luminous megascreens of Myeongdong and Gangnam represent only one facet of signage. Seoul's subway lines 1 through 4 house 4,218 smart signage units across 90 stations. Millions traverse the Seoul Metro daily—a substantial portion foreign tourists visiting Korea. The digital infrastructure they first encounter is this signage. Route maps, schedules, and surrounding traffic information become touchable, smartphone-like experiences. This interaction intuitively demonstrates Seoul's technological affinity (기술 친화적 도시).
The Next Frontier: Technology and Culture Converge
At CES 2026, Samsung Electronics unveiled a new chapter in display technology: "Spatial Signage (스페이셜 사이니지)." This next-generation form factor simultaneously implements the refined detail of 2D and the three-dimensional depth of 3D, delivering a sense of reality as if stepping into the screen itself. The technology transcends the limitations of flat screens, creating novel spatial experiences (공간 경험), and previews the future signage we will encounter throughout our lives.
Samsung Electronics' commitment to this innovation reflects a deeper understanding: signage is no longer passive. It is an active participant in how cities communicate, how brands narrate, how cultures express themselves. The Spatial Signage technology—capable of rendering depth without specialized glasses—represents the convergence of hardware sophistication and human-centered design (인간 중심 설계).
The Infrastructure of Korean Wave
The Korean Wave (한류) has transcended content. It now extends into infrastructure. The platform streaming K-dramas, the device playing K-POP, the AI recommending K-beauty—Korean companies' technology serves as the medium (매개) through which Korean cultural content reaches the world. The boundary between culture and technology blurs increasingly.
That foreign tourists photographing themselves against Seoul's skyline experience overwhelming visual moments courtesy of Korean technology reveals another dimension of the Korean Wave. Seoul's landscape evolves into increasingly three-dimensional, immersive experiences—from history to future technology.
At this intersection where technology becomes culture and infrastructure becomes experience, the Korean Wave now encompasses not merely content, but the stage itself upon which that content unfolds. From Myeongdong to Gangnam, Seoul's digital landscape has become a Korean Wave content (한류 콘텐츠) in its own right—a medium through which the city narrates its identity to the world.
Source: This article is based on materials provided by Park Yeon-hee (박연희, [email protected]).
