Starfield COEX Mall

Starfield COEX Mall occupies a substantial subterranean footprint at 513 Yeongdong-daero in Gangnam-gu, running beneath the COEX Convention & Exhibition Centre and connecting into the Samseong Station complex on the Seoul Metro Line 2. The property was originally developed as COEX Mall in 2000 as part of the Korea International Trade Association’s convention district, and Shinsegae Property took over operations in 2014, rebranding the asset as Starfield COEX Mall in 2016.

The visible tenant slate covers Olive Young for the Korean beauty category that has become a required anchor in every meaningful Seoul retail asset, the specialty draw of The Gundam Base for hobbyist and collector footfall, and mass-market fashion positions in H&M, Uniqlo, and Zara. Adidas holds the athleticwear anchor, and KFC covers the international quick-service position that trades reliably against the domestic bunsik operators in the food court zone.

What has made the property a recurring case study for Asian retail operators is the Starfield Library, a two-storey open library installation with roughly 50,000 volumes at the mall’s central atrium. Since its 2017 opening the library has served both as a social media landmark and as a genuine dwell-time driver, materially extending average visit length and cross-visit intent to adjacent tenants.

The catchment reflects the Gangnam district’s daytime density: convention attendees at COEX and adjacent event venues, employees from the Hyundai Motor Group Global Business Center construction site and surrounding office towers, and a domestic tourism flow that treats the mall as a stop between duty-free floors at COEX Intercontinental and dining in Apgujeong. The Samseong Station interchange means direct rail access to Gangnam Station, Sinsa, and the northern city core.

Shinsegae Property has continued to weight the Starfield brand across Korea toward integrated leisure-retail formats, and Starfield COEX has served as the operating template for Starfield Hanam, Starfield Anseong, and the newer Starfield Suwon assets that the group has opened through the late 2010s and early 2020s.