Olive Young Seongsu Store: Inside the Pokemon Concept Space

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There is a queue outside the Olive Young Seongsu store that no other drugstore in Seoul could justify, and people stand in it happily, phones out, photographing a wall of Pokemon before they have bought a single thing. That tells you everything about this branch. It is not a shop you nip into for sunscreen — it is a destination, a concept store built to be photographed, queued for, and wandered slowly, and that is exactly why it deserves its own visit.

Why the Olive Young Seongsu Store Is Different

The Olive Young Seongsu store is a concept branch, and that single word changes everything about it. A normal Olive Young is a tight, brightly lit drugstore wedged between a coffee shop and a phone-repair stall. This one was designed as an experience first and a shop second. It sits inside the same warehouse-and-brick landscape that made Seongsu famous, and the brand leaned all the way into it.

The headline draw is the Pokemon collaboration. The exterior carries a sprawling “Olive Picnic” mural, with Pikachu and friends sprawled across a picnic scene that takes up most of the facade. It is the kind of wall that pulls people off the street mid-conversation. I watched a whole family abandon their walk to the station just to take photos in front of it.

Inside, the difference is just as obvious. The ceilings are high, the aisles are wide, and the lighting is softer than the usual clinical glare. There is room to actually stand and read an ingredient list without someone’s elbow in your ribs. For a brand that usually crams everything into a few hundred square feet, this felt almost luxurious. It is the closest an Olive Young gets to feeling like a flagship gallery.

If you want the broader picture of how this branch fits against the others, my Olive Young store guide for Seoul compares the Gangnam, Myeongdong, and Seongsu branches so you can pick which one matches your trip.

My First Visit to the Pokemon Concept Store

I went on a Saturday in spring, which I knew was a mistake before I even arrived. I came up from Seongsu Station, walked about eight minutes through the cafe streets, and saw the mural from half a block away. There was already a queue snaking along the pavement when I got there just after 1pm.

I almost walked off. Twenty years in Sydney has made me allergic to queuing for shops. But I had heard this branch was worth it, so I joined the back of the line and waited. It took roughly twenty-five minutes to get in, which felt long for a drugstore and short for a tourist attraction. Honestly, it sat somewhere uncomfortably between the two.

Back in Sydney, the idea of queuing twenty-five minutes to enter a Priceline or a Chemist Warehouse would be absurd — you would simply leave. But in Seoul, a beauty store can be a genuine outing, something you photograph and post and plan your afternoon around. The Olive Young Seongsu store understands that completely, and the queue is part of the theatre, not a flaw in it.

Once inside, my irritation melted a little. The space was bright, calm, and far less frantic than the Myeongdong branches I usually dread. I spent about forty minutes wandering, took an embarrassing number of photos by the Pokemon displays, and walked out with a small basket and a slightly bruised sense of my own willpower.

The Three Parts of the Experience

I have come to think of a visit here in three distinct stages. Each one has its own mood, and knowing them ahead of time helps you decide how much patience to bring. This is the part of the visit that is genuinely an experience rather than a shopping trip.

The Pokemon facade

The facade is the reason most people come, and it earns the attention. The “Olive Picnic” mural wraps the entrance in a soft, illustrated picnic scene, with Pikachu lounging front and centre. There are usually photo spots set up near the door, and on weekends a gentle scrum of people taking turns to pose. I am not a Pokemon person, and I still took six photos. The wall is large enough that you can frame a clean shot even with a crowd, if you wait thirty seconds for a gap. Go early if you want the mural without a queue of photographers in front of it.

The queue and entry

The queue is the part nobody warns you about, and it is wildly dependent on timing. On my Saturday it ran about twenty-five minutes. A friend who went on a Tuesday morning walked straight in. The line is managed for crowd control inside, not because tickets are needed, so it moves in steady pulses as staff let batches through. There is little shade on the pavement, so in summer you will want sunscreen and water, and in winter a proper coat. The wait is outdoors and exposed, which is the single biggest reason to come on a weekday.

Inside the store

Inside is where the concept pays off. The layout is spacious by Olive Young standards, with a dedicated fragrance and perfume zone that feels more like a department store counter than a drugstore shelf. The Pokemon merchandise and themed displays are dotted through the floor, so the browsing itself becomes a little treasure hunt. The skincare and sun-care walls are the same well-stocked range you find anywhere, but with room to breathe. I could actually compare three sunscreens side by side without being jostled, which never happens in Myeongdong.

Is the Olive Young Seongsu Store Worth It

The answer depends entirely on why you are going. If you simply need to buy skincare efficiently, this is not your branch — the queue and the crowds make it the least practical Olive Young in the city. If you want an experience, though, it is one of the most memorable beauty stops in Seoul, and I would happily send a first-time visitor here.

What makes it worth the detour is the combination of the Pokemon theme and the Seongsu setting. You are already in the neighbourhood for the cafes and the pop-ups, so a calm, photogenic, well-stocked store from Olive Young slots neatly into that day. It does not feel like an errand. It feels like part of the wander, which is the whole appeal of Seongsu in the first place.

I would also be clear about who should skip it. If you hate queues, dislike crowds, and have no interest in the mural, you will get an identical product range with zero wait at a quieter branch two stations away. The store experience is the entire selling point here. Strip that away and you are paying — in time, not money — for a drugstore. For everyone planning a Seongsu day anyway, my guide to the wider Seongsu-dong area shows how to build this in without it eating your afternoon.

Olive Young Seongsu Store at a Glance

Here is how the Seongsu concept store compares to the standard branches I usually shop at, so you can judge whether the experience is worth the trade-offs for your own trip.

Tips for Visiting the Olive Young Seongsu Store

After my Saturday lesson, here is exactly how I would tell a friend to do it. These small habits turn the visit from a frustrating queue into a genuinely lovely stop.

• Go on a weekday morning: This is the single biggest tip. The same store that has a twenty-five-minute line on Saturday is a walk-in on a Tuesday before noon.
• Photograph the mural first: Get your facade photos before you join the entry queue, while the light is good and the crowd is thinner.
• Bring sunscreen or a coat: The queue is outdoors and exposed. I got a faint sunburn standing in it, which is its own kind of irony at a beauty store.
• Pair it with the neighbourhood: Treat it as one stop on a Seongsu day, not a special trip. It is far more enjoyable wrapped into cafes and pop-ups.
• Do your real shopping with a plan: The store is calm, but you will still browse for ages. Know your two or three target products before you walk in.

The timing logic is the same one that governs the whole neighbourhood. Weekend afternoons are the storm and weekday mornings are the calm, so the trick is simply to fold this stop into the quiet half of your Seongsu day rather than the busy one.

What to Actually Buy While You Are There

I am keeping this short on purpose, because the Seongsu branch carries the same range as any Olive Young, and I have a whole separate guide for the product side. For a proper deep dive into what is actually worth buying here, read my dedicated Olive Young Seongsu K-beauty shopping guide — it covers the shelves, prices, and picks in full so I will not repeat all of it here.

For the visit itself, a few reliable heroes are worth grabbing if you have the basket out. The COSRX Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Essence is the one bottle I have bought more times than any other, usually around ₩15,000 (roughly AUD 17), and it is a forgiving first step into Korean skincare. If your skin runs reactive, the Anua Heartleaf 77% Soothing Toner is the calming staple I refill on every trip.

And because Seongsu is brutally exposed in summer, this is a sensible place to stock up on sun care. A reliable, no-white-cast option like the Beauty of Joseon Relief Sun sits at roughly ₩12,000 (about AUD 13) and is the one I would slip on before the queue, not after it. Keep your basket to three or four genuine needs and the spacious store makes the whole thing feel easy. If you are mapping the area out before you go, the official Visit Seoul site has a handy district overview for Seongsu-dong.

FAQ

Where is the Olive Young Seongsu store?

The Olive Young Seongsu store sits in the Seongsu-dong district of Seoul, about an eight-minute walk from Seongsu Station on Line 2. It is in the heart of the cafe-and-pop-up area, so it is easy to fold into a wider Seongsu day. The Pokemon “Olive Picnic” mural on the exterior makes it impossible to miss once you are on the right street.

Is the Olive Young Seongsu store really a Pokemon concept store?

Yes. The branch is built as a concept store with a Pokemon collaboration, including the large “Olive Picnic” mural across the facade and themed displays inside. It is designed as a photo destination and experience, not just a place to grab skincare. The product range itself is the standard Olive Young range you find everywhere else.

Do I need to queue at the Olive Young Seongsu store?

Often, yes, especially on weekend afternoons. On my Saturday visit the queue ran about twenty-five minutes, managed for crowd control inside rather than for tickets. On a weekday morning you can usually walk straight in. The line is outdoors and exposed, so going early is the easiest way to skip it.

Is it worth visiting the Olive Young Seongsu store?

If you want an experience, it is one of the most memorable beauty stops in Seoul, with a photogenic mural and a calm, spacious interior. If you only want to buy products quickly, a standard branch with no queue is more practical. It is best treated as one enjoyable stop on a wider Seongsu day rather than a dedicated shopping trip.

What should I buy at the Olive Young Seongsu store?

The Seongsu branch carries the same core range as every Olive Young, so the same reliable heroes apply — a snail mucin essence, a soothing toner, and a good no-white-cast sunscreen. For a full breakdown of prices and picks, it is worth reading a dedicated Olive Young Seongsu shopping guide rather than buying blind. Keep your basket to three or four genuine needs.

My Thoughts

The Olive Young Seongsu store is the only Olive Young I have ever recommended people visit for the building rather than the products. That is a strange thing to say about a drugstore chain, but this branch earns it. The Pokemon mural, the wide calm interior, and the Seongsu setting turn a routine errand into a small outing.

My advice is to go on a weekday morning, treat it as one photogenic stop in a bigger Seongsu day, and do your serious product shopping with a plan. The queue on a busy weekend is real, and it is the one thing that can sour the visit. Time it right and there is nothing to sour at all.

I came in cynical, twenty years of Sydney impatience and all, and I still walked out charmed. That is the highest compliment I can pay a shop I waited twenty-five minutes to enter.