[Report] PUBG Mobile Meets Kia EV... "Zone 8" Experience Heats Up Seongsu

Bringing the World of "PUBG Mobile" Offline
Expanding User Engagement through Interactive Pop-Up Event

On the afternoon of the 21st, despite it being a weekday, groups of visitors gathered at PUBG Seongsu in Seongsu-dong, Seoul. They came to enjoy the interactive content prepared by KRAFTON in collaboration with Kia to mark the 8th anniversary of "PUBG Mobile."

Blue Zone Air Dome installed at PUBG Seongsu in Seongsu-dong, Seoul. Photo by Gyojo Noh

This pop-up event was organized to expand the experience of the game’s intellectual property (IP) into the offline world, and to connect Kia’s EV lineup with younger gamers. The concept is "Zone 8," which connects the two key locations—PUBG Seongsu and Kia Unplugged Ground—into a single universe.

Upon arriving at the entrance, the Blue Zone Air Dome installed in the front yard immediately caught the eye. This structure recreates the "blue zone," a core gameplay element of "PUBG Mobile." Inside the dome, a Kia EV4 was displayed among a ball pit. Visitors walked around, lay down, enjoyed test rides, and took commemorative photos.

Right next door, the In-Circle Challenge was underway. Participants dressed up as characters by wearing helmets and backpacks, then navigated obstacles and collected items while escaping a wall-shaped blue zone that closely followed behind. To earn a success stamp, participants needed to collect at least five items without touching the blue zone.

Kia Unplugged Ground, just a few minutes’ walk from PUBG Seongsu, was also transformed into a battle zone, offering a variety of hands-on experiences. Visitors could follow a flow that recreated game play in physical space, including EV Landing, item farming, RC car racing, and the Laser Battle Zone.

The RC car racing feature utilized Kia EV4 RC cars created in collaboration with the creator Kwangnabo. A leaderboard displaying the top five lap times was posted onsite to spark competitive spirit among visitors. The Laser Battle Zone, featuring the EV3 on display, was also very popular. Three to four people could participate at once, aiming at targets placed behind the vehicle. Each person was given ten shots. Real-time scores were tracked on tablets and displayed on a large screen, adding to the excitement.

Laser Battle Zone set up at Kia Unplugged Ground in Seongsu-dong, Seoul. Photo by Kyungjo Noh

A KRAFTON representative commented, "We designed this event so that fans can enjoy the core play experience of 'PUBG Mobile' in the real-life space of Seongsu. By collaborating with Kia, we are expanding battlegrounds, movement, and combat elements from the game into the real world, offering visitors a brand-new immersive brand experience."

The pop-up event will continue through this weekend. KRAFTON is expanding its offline experiential events utilizing its flagship IP, PUBG. In March, the company also held an offline event at Korea University’s Hwajeong Gymnasium in Anam-dong, Seoul, to celebrate the 9th anniversary of PUBG's launch.

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