30,000 Lights and Giant Trees: Three Major Department Stores Kick Off the Christmas Season

by Kim Heungsoon

Published 30 Oct.2025 06:00(KST)

Updated 30 Oct.2025 08:38(KST)

Lotte, Shinsegae, and Hyundai Department Stores Unveil Christmas Decorations

The department store industry is entering the full-fledged Christmas season.

2025 Lotte Department Store Christmas visual theme Sweet Holidays colors the view of Lotte Town Myeongdong. Provided by Lotte Department Store

Lotte Department Store announced on the 30th that it will unveil its Christmas decorations on the 31st, transforming Lotte Town with a warm Christmas atmosphere and marking the start of the year-end season.

Last year, Lotte Department Store received high praise for its Christmas decorations centered around the main branch, under the concept of 'Wonderful SHOWTIME,' which recreated the vibrant atmosphere of 1990s Broadway musicals. In particular, the exterior lighting show using over 20,000 LED bulbs established itself as a leading winter attraction in the city.

This year, the theme is 'Sweet Holidays,' conveying messages of comfort and encouragement as the year comes to a close. Lotte Department Store explained that the 'Christmas Gift Parade' concept is intended to express gratitude to everyone for their hard work throughout the year and to create a festival atmosphere of warm consolation.

Fairy character 'Ttonttu,' which symbolizes Lotte Department Store's Christmas season, along with various animals, will appear in fairy tale-like visual graphics depicting a Christmas parade. These displays will be rolled out sequentially at Lotte Department Stores and Lotte Outlets nationwide. On the exterior walls of the main branch and Jamsil branch, the 'Lotte Town Christmas Facade' will be presented using a total of 30,000 LED lights.

In Lotte Town Myeongdong, a 13-meter-tall Christmas tree has been installed in front of Exit 7 of Euljiro 1-ga Station. Additionally, a 100-meter-long street stretching from the new building to the main building is adorned with 'moving showcases' using dioramas. In front of the main branch entrance, a 3-meter-tall Ttonttu character photo zone has been set up, and on the first floor, a moving Visual Presentation Zone (VP Zone) displays limited-edition gifts available only at Lotte Department Store.

Furthermore, at the end of next month, the 'Lotte Town Christmas Market,' which has become one of the largest Christmas markets in the metropolitan area, will be held on the lawn plaza in Lotte Town Jamsil.

Rendering image of Shinsegae Square 2025 Christmas video. Provided by Shinsegae Department Store

Shinsegae Department Store will release Seoul's representative year-end Christmas video at Shinsegae Square on December 7. The video, themed 'A Magical World Connecting Time,' features Puuvilla, a cotton ball character resembling a white bear, welcoming visitors amid dazzling Christmas decorations at Shinsegae Square. 'Puuvilla' means 'cotton' in Finnish and was first introduced in Shinsegae Department Store's 2017 Christmas campaign. At the end of the video, it delivers a message wishing happiness and wonder for the year-end season ("Wonder all the way").

The interior of Shinsegae Department Store will also be filled with photo zones and large Christmas trees. On the first floor of the Gangnam branch, a large tree road will be set up. The House of Shinsegae will be decorated with hundreds of thousands of lights to evoke a golden Milky Way. At Daejeon Shinsegae Art & Science, a giant 8-meter-tall Christmas tree will be installed in the first-floor lobby.

Rendering image of The Hyundai Seoul 2025 Christmas Workshop. Provided by Hyundai Department Store

In addition, Hyundai Department Store will present Christmas-themed decorations under the theme 'Harry's Christmas Workshop' at its Apgujeong main branch, The Hyundai Seoul, and all department stores and outlets nationwide starting December 1.

At The Hyundai Seoul's fifth-floor Sounds Forest H Village, which has become a top spot for year-end photos, the story of Hyundai Department Store's signature Christmas character, 'Baby Bear Harry,' will unfold. Visitors can tour five cottages, including Santa's House, Letter Workshop, Gift Workshop, Wrapping Workshop, and Rudolph's House, set up in H Village.

Hyundai Department Store locations nationwide will continue the Christmas miracle with Baby Bear Harry. Large Christmas trees and photo zones will be installed in the main plazas of the Apgujeong main branch and the Trade Center branch, providing warm attractions. At the Pangyo branch, a large owl sculpture depicting the delivery of Christmas gifts will be installed in the vertical void space between the first and fifth floors, and Harry's Christmas Workshop will be featured in the fifth-floor Family Garden.

At Hyundai Premium Outlet Gimpo branch, a Christmas village will be unveiled in the outdoor plaza on December 15. Alongside a 13-meter-tall Christmas tree, a 'Santa's House' measuring 6 meters in height, 8 meters in width, and 15 meters in length will be set up, with photo zones featuring Baby Bear Harry throughout the venue.