Anime shops on the rise in South Korea’s department stores

An Animate store in Hongdae saw a threefold surge in visitors for the past two months.

Anime and related goods are gaining popularity amongst South Korea’s department stores, with more people spending long hours at home following the onset of the pandemic, Korea Bizwire reported.

Shopping mall AK & Hongdae, run by AK Plaza, has seen its fifth floor filled up with anime and subculture shops since May. Amongst them, Animate was visited by some 140,000 people over the past two months, rising threefold year-on-year from 45,000 visitors.

Another Animate store that opened at I-Park Mall in Yongsan, Seoul four years ago introduced a separate shop dedicated to second-hand figurines last year. The shop rents out display cases to people interested in selling their anime figurines and plastic models.

Visitors wishing to buy a showcased item can call the seller directly. The store sometimes buys second-hand items itself for resale.