Korea's largest mall opens at Gimpo Airport
Just what Seoul needs -- another huge shopping mall. Another year, another mammoth new Korean mall upstaging the previous one.
Lotte Mall opened today at 10:30 a.m. next to Gimpo Airport, creating a press frenzy and a shoppers' stampede rivaling those of Black Friday YouTube videos.
The new mall, which proclaims itself as "the largest lifestyle mall park in Korea," is spread out across a gross area of 314,000 square meters, and houses a bewildering array of venues to tempt the money from your wallet.
"I felt like I was in a maze because the place was so huge," said Yehram Kim, 24, who was present for the mall's opening. "So many people were lining up outside, pushing to get in."
In addition to hundreds of venues that include a department store, a warehouse store, a 4-D theater and a premium business hotel, the mall also houses an art gallery, a free locker service, a VIP lounge, a baby lounge, tailoring services and six outdoor parks.
The best part? Lots and lots of parking spaces, 5,000 to be exact -- surely a relief to city shoppers accustomed to waiting endlessly for a spot at department stores in the city, especially during peak hours.
Given Gimpo Airport's 30,000 employees, 40,000 daily visitors and the two million people living within a two-kilometer radius, Lotte Mall representatives predicted the number of daily visitors to the mall would number around 65,000.
Need a coffee break and want to check back in with the outside world in between all the shopping? CNN Café inside YoungPoong Bookstore on the GF (B2) level serves up the latest breaking news with waffles and frothy lattes.
Getting there: Take subway line 5 or 9 to Gimpo Airport Station. For how to get there by bus or car, click here.
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