A Visit to Gangnam's 'Teum' with Coffee, Books, and Photography Content That Hits Your Taste (Comprehensive)

LGU+ Gangnam Complex Cultural Space 'Teum' Composed of 5 Keywords
Exhibition, Cafe, Books, Photography, and Gatherings All in One Place
Aiming to Understand MZ Generation and Reflect Services Beyond One-Sided Promotion

The first-floor lobby of Teum is decorated with a media wall and plants, and the LG Wing pop-up event is currently taking place.

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] If you walk about five minutes from Gangnam Station on Subway Line 2, you can find a unique space called 'Ilsangbi Ilsang-ui Teum' (hereafter Teum). This place gathers everything that the MZ generation likes, from books, photos, coffee, exhibitions to IT devices. Although it is a space created by LG Uplus, it is hard to find traces of LG Uplus from the signboard to the interior of the building.

On the 15th, LG Uplus held a press conference to introduce 'Teum,' a complex cultural space opened at 426 Gangnam-daero, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. The building, spanning 1 basement floor to 6 above-ground floors with a total area of 1,388㎡ (420 pyeong), is filled with different stores on each floor, including a bookstore, cafe, and experience spaces. The first floor is designed with a virtual forest concept, where a large media wall installed on the walls and ceiling displays different landscapes depending on the weather. The first floor operates as a pop-up store, and on this day, there was a booth where visitors could experience the LG Wing.

Inside the 'YouTube Studio' on the first floor of Teum

Teum opened in early September. Even without special promotion, it attracted about 15,000 visitors within a month through word of mouth. LG Uplus formed a separate task force a year ago to design the space and set a strategy to make it a hot place where the MZ generation would voluntarily visit and stay frequently. By analyzing their tendencies, they selected five keywords: exhibition, cafe, books, photography, and gatherings, and partnered with companies through an open innovation approach.

Kim Saera, head of LG Uplus Marketing Group, explained, "We judged that promoting under the Uplus brand was not the way customers wanted to communicate. Within that, we will naturally expose our products and services in a natural context." She added, "It was difficult to remove the preconception that this is a place operated by a telecom company, and the process of naming took a long time."

At the glasshouse cafe on the second floor, you can enjoy coffee while watching real-time footage of the beach.

On the third floor of Teum, the independent bookstore Storage Book & Film offers a variety of books on movies, travel, photography, literature, and more.

Famous cafes favored by the MZ generation such as 'Glass House' in Goseong, Gangwon-do (2nd floor), the independent bookstore 'Storage Book & Film' in Yongsan (3rd floor), and the photo studio 'Sihyeonhada' (4th floor) are located here. On the first floor, there is also a 'YouTube Studio' in collaboration with YouTube, and the 5th floor is designed as a 5G service and content experience space. Visitors can enjoy coffee made by a robot barista and experience smart home training, cloud gaming, and U+ AR/VR devices. Photo shoots at Sihyeonhada or reservations for gathering spaces can be made through the dedicated 'Teum' app. The basement floor is a cultural and artistic space that holds themed exhibitions quarterly. Currently, an exhibition that can be enjoyed with dogs is ongoing. Uplus members who visit Teum receive up to 50% discounts on photo studio shoots and cafe drinks, and souvenirs are provided at the bookstore.

The reason LG Uplus created such a space in the prime area of Gangnam is to better 'understand' the MZ generation. It aims to listen to consumers' interests and opinions, which are difficult to obtain in regular stores that unilaterally promote their services. Employees working at Teum are called 'Uplers,' and their role is to help visitors share tastes and experiences. They also directly plan MZ generation-tailored promotions. Kim Saera said, "Just talking about services unilaterally does not reveal what customers want. Observing and conversing about what customers react sensitively to is a long-term way to increase brand value." She added, "Real-time customer reactions will be actively used as a medium to develop the products or services we want."

Baristabot placed on the 5th floor of Teum

The exhibition space on the basement level 1 of Teum operates with a different theme each quarter, and currently, an exhibition themed around companion dogs is underway.

Going forward, LG Uplus plans to expand partnerships in various fields and consider expanding unique concept customer experience spaces to other regions. Kim said, "Teum is the first button to form relationships and an important platform. It will give current Uplus customers reasons to continue using our services and make future customers prioritize Uplus." She added, "We will consider whether to expand after examining the meaning of Teum's success, how it connects with products and services, and how customers understand it."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.