OLIVE YOUNG Nampo Town and the changing face of Busan’s old downtown “People ask me where OLIVE YOUNG is all day long. I tell them so often, my throat gets sore.” Park Sook-ja (71) has run a roasted chestnut stand near the entrance to Nampo-dong for nearly 50 years. She first began working on this street at age 23, witnessing Nampo grow into one of Busan’s busiest destinations, then seeing foot traffic gradually shift elsewhere over the years. These days, one of the biggest changes she sees is the growing number of international visitors. “It’s gotten to the point where it’s hard to run the business without foreign customers,” she says. Then, on August 28, another change arrived. OLIVE YOUNG Nampo Town opened its doors in a large building that had stood vacant for years. Spanning approximately 3,000 square meters across four floors, the store is the largest OLIVE YOUNG location outside the Seoul metropolitan area and the second-largest in Korea. It replaces and expands the former OLIVE YOUNG Gwangbok Town, with its name changed to Nampo Town to more directly reflect the identity of Nampo-dong, one of the defining commercial districts of Busan’s old downtown. But the story is about more than size. Nampo-dong still carries traces of Busan’s past, yet its streets are taking on a new character as international tourism grows. At the center of that change is a new OLIVE YOUNG Nampo Town. Bringing a vacant space back to life The building now home to OLIVE YOUNG Nampo Town had been vacant for an extended period after a large fashion retailer moved out. Nampo-dong itself has long been one of Busan’s landmark commercial districts, but like many established downtown areas, its streets have also come to reflect a mix of long-running businesses and empty storefronts. As OLIVE YOUNG prepared to reopen the space, signs of change were already emerging nearby. New pharmacies began opening around the store, while existing pharmacies refreshed their interiors and some introduced new formats combining K-beauty and wellness products aimed at international visitors. Other previously vacant storefronts have also begun welcoming new businesses. As more international travelers arrive in Busan through cruise ships and low-cost carriers, Nampo-dong is developing a new identity alongside its traditional one: a global tourism district where visitors can experience both the city’s heritage and its contemporary lifestyle. OLIVE YOUNG Nampo Town opened against this backdrop. The response was immediate. Despite heavy rain on opening day, a line had already formed outside before the doors opened. During the O.Y SALE that followed, the store recorded sales well above its initial target. A large vacant space was once again filled with people, and the surrounding streets are beginning to change with it. So why Nampo-dong, and why now? Why Nampo-dong, and not Haeundae or Seomyeon? For Busan residents, Nampo-dong is familiar territory. Alongside Seomyeon, it has long been one of the city’s major commercial districts and a center of Busan’s old downtown. For international travelers, however, its appeal lies in how much of Busan can be experienced within a relatively compact area. Jagalchi Market, Gukje Market and Bupyeong Kkangtong Market sit within walking distance of one another, alongside long-standing local specialties such as seed-filled hotteok. Shopping, food and sightseeing naturally connect within a short route, while Busan Port is also nearby. The area offers something increasingly sought after by travelers: a chance to experience a distinctly local side of Busan while still enjoying the city’s contemporary lifestyle. Another customer group has also become increasingly visible in Nampo-dong and other major tourism districts across Busan: cruise passengers. When large cruise ships dock at Busan Port, visitors spread out by bus to explore the city’s major attractions. In Nampo-dong, it is not unusual to see groups following a guide’s flag into a store, then moving on together a short while later. Lee Hye-min, store manager at OLIVE YOUNG Nampo Town, had a close view of this pattern while previously managing Gwangbok Town. “Unlike travelers arriving by air, cruise passengers often don’t stay overnight in Busan. They may only have a few hours in the city. Their nationalities vary and their time is limited, but they tend to want to make the most of that time and shop efficiently.” Short stays, diverse nationalities and a tendency toward larger purchases. These characteristics helped shape the store itself. A first floor built for quick discoveries The moment visitors enter OLIVE YOUNG Nampo Town, they encounter the K-Favorites Floor. Each of the four floors has its own specialty, but the first floor takes a different approach. Rather than focusing on a single category, it brings together best-selling products across skincare, makeup, hair care, wellness and K-food. The idea is simple: give global visitors with limited time, including cruise passengers, a quick way to find what is popular in Korea right now. That difference is even reflected in the way staff guide customers: “Welcome to Best K-Hair Care Zone.” On the first floor, categories are introduced with “BEST” prominently featured. Upstairs, the emphasis shifts to categories themselves, with zones such as “Makeup Zone” and “Hair Care Zone.” In other words, the first floor is designed for discovering Korea’s current favorites at a glance, while the upper floors invite customers to explore individual categories in greater depth. The fixtures themselves were designed with global shopping patterns in mind. OLIVE YOUNG Nampo Town is the first store to introduce bulk-style fixtures, which display large quantities of individual products in a highly visible format. At the entrance, for example, large displays of MEDIHEAL mask sets and DELIGHT PROJECT bagel chips immediately catch the eye, both products that have proven popular among international visitors. “Customers often pick up those products as soon as they walk in and start shopping from there,” says Lee. It is a small detail that reflects a larger idea: the store is designed not only around what sells, but around how global customers shop. Early sales data reinforces that point. Domestic and international customers accounted for similar shares of total transactions, yet international visitors generated approximately 70% of sales. The figure reflects their relatively higher average spend and tendency to purchase multiple products at once. Operations are adapted accordingly. On days when large cruise ships are expected to dock, additional staff may be deployed around anticipated peak arrival times. Who comes to Nampo-dong, how long they stay and how they shop, all of these patterns have been translated into the store’s layout, merchandising and operations. Shop quickly on the first floor, stay longer upstairs After quickly picking up K-beauty bestsellers on the first floor, the shopping experience changes as visitors move upstairs. The second floor focuses on color-led beauty curation, the third on K-food, wellness and personal care, including hair and body care, and the fourth on skincare. Here, the focus moves beyond bestsellers toward discovery and experience. OLIVE YOUNG Nampo Town has introduced the largest number of skin analysis services among OLIVE YOUNG stores outside the Seoul metropolitan area. Visitors can also try experiential services tailored to different beauty concerns, including SKIN SCAN, SCALP SCAN and COLOR FIT. Based on diagnostic results, customers can receive product recommendations tailored to their skin and beauty concerns. The fourth floor also features dedicated Beauty Consultants who provide personalized skincare consultations. Following an actual customer journey makes the connection between these services even clearer. A visitor might begin with SKIN SCAN to understand their skin condition, speak with a Beauty Consultant about advanced derma skincare suited to their concerns, try the recommended products, and then explore beauty devices designed to enhance product absorption. A sink area is also available nearby for customers to wash their hands after testing products. Rather than simply placing products on shelves for customers to try, the store turns the process of finding and experiencing the right K-beauty products into part of the shopping journey itself. The response has been quick. During the early days following the opening, SKIN SCAN was used approximately 700 times a day, while Beauty Consultant consultations reached around 40 per day. The store is also attracting local Busan residents, not just international travelers. The opportunity to experience the wide assortment and advanced experiential services previously concentrated in larger Seoul-area stores is creating a new reason for local customers to visit. Making the small things easier At 3,000 square meters across four floors, simply finding the right product can become a challenge, especially when the store welcomes visitors from around the world. That is why OLIVE YOUNG Nampo Town operates a dedicated Service Desk in addition to its first-floor checkout counters. The desk handles everything from product and floor guidance to exchanges and refunds for international visitors, gift collection, lost-and-found inquiries and assistance for customers with disabilities. By separating these services from checkout, the store can provide a more focused experience for both shoppers and customers seeking assistance. Staff members who can assist in English, Chinese and Japanese are strategically positioned throughout the store. The location is also the first OLIVE YOUNG store in Busan to introduce an AI interpretation device, allowing employees to communicate with customers speaking languages they may not personally speak, including Spanish. Providing floor guides and helping customers locate products is only part of the job. Staff members are sometimes asked where to find a good restaurant nearby or what else to see in the neighborhood. Lee describes the service area as being “almost like a hotel concierge.” More than what you buy Throughout OLIVE YOUNG Nampo Town, OLIVE YOUNG merchandise is displayed as well. For international visitors, these items can become souvenirs in their own right. There is even a distinctly Busan touch to what customers choose. While pink merchandise has been popular at stores in the Seoul metropolitan area, blue items are selling better at Nampo Town. Even in a small souvenir, the character of the city seems to find its way in. For Lee, the goal is for OLIVE YOUNG Nampo Town to become part of the positive memories visitors take away from Busan. “I believe a good space leaves behind memories, rather than simply things. I hope the time and experiences people have at OLIVE YOUNG Nampo Town become part of the special memories they associate with Korea even after they leave.” At the heart of Busan’s travel route, where visitors eat, walk, explore and shop, OLIVE YOUNG Nampo Town has opened a new chapter in Nampo-dong. The country’s second-largest OLIVE YOUNG is not simply filling a once-vacant building. It is becoming part of the neighborhood’s next chapter, as one of Busan’s oldest downtown districts takes on a new role in the city’s growing global tourism landscape.