South Korea’s Pokemon Town 2024

One of the best things about living so close to Japan is the wealth of influence anime has in Korea. We get simul-releases of anime films, merch events, and collaborations with Korean brands. Best of all, we get loads of events and pop-ups for popular series’ like Pokémon.

Pokemon has had a massive resurgence in Korea since the late 2000’s when its popularity dwindled. Now, there are seasonal Pokemon events and thanks to partnerships with big brands like Lotte and mainstays like 7-11, we get a host of Korea-exclusive events along with merch direct from Japan.

Pokemon Town 2024 is the first Pokemon pop-up at the Lotte World Mall this year. Every May, Lotte and the Pokemon Company host a variety of events including pop-up stores, TCG events, and one event last year that invited fans to battle against gym leaders from Scarlet and Violet… in person! This year, true to the event’s name, they set up a mini-Pokemon town outside of the Lotte World Mall with games, prizes, and, of course, photo zones.

• When: Until May 19, 2024
• Where: Jamsil Lotte World Mall (Google Maps, Naver Map)

An Impressive Pokemon Town

The first thing we did when we arrived was put in our phone number for the pop-up store inside the mall. We arrived at 11:30 AM and were 839th in line with an estimated 3 hour wait. While those numbers were daunting, we did 2.5 hours in the Korean winter for Disney’s House of WISH! Undeterred, we headed outside to the Pokemon Town to see exactly what there was to do. Of course, there was another line, but there was no online queue so entire families and couples were waiting for their turn to get into the town. It took us a little over an hour to get in, but it was worth the wait.

While the majority of fans flock to the event to see the merch at the store, the town was by far the highlight of the entire event. Lotte and the Pokemon Company designed booths for this event that perfectly captured the shape and colors of Pokemon towns from the early games. It really feels like you stepped into Pallet Town on your way to start your Pokemon journey. The booths featured themed games like the Machoke Dice-Toss, Spoink Double Jump, Cubone Yut-Nori or the Fidough Ring Toss. Each game came with prizes and, with the exception of a Jigglypuff photo booth, they were all free.

According to an informational pamphlet, the town has a max capacity of 400 at any given time which reduces the wait for games inside town. It also prevents over-crowding so that everyone gets a chance to take photos with minimal waits. Compared to most of the pop-ups that we’ve attended (including past Pokemon events), this one was one of the most well-organized and we couldn’t help but be impressed by the effort, not just to bring Pokemon to life, but to give fans a chance to enjoy it in peace.

Lapras and Pikachu

Just outside of town on the banks of Seokchon Lake proper is the giant Lapras and Pikachu float. It’s impossible to miss the smiling Lapras with the giddy Pikachu on his back and while there weren’t any activities in the area, there were throngs of people taking pictures or just picnicking around the area.

There wasn’t much else to see here with the exception of an event booth. But the view of a massive Lapras was more than enough to make the 3-minute trek to the lake worth it. You can see the duo from anywhere east-side of the lake, but the view from the deck directly across from the Lotte World Mall gets you the best view and the best photos.

The Pokemon Pop-Up Store

Just to remind you, by this point we’d been at the event for about 3.5 hours. By the time we finished with the town and the float, it was time to enter the long-awaited pop-up which was full of surprises.

The pop-up store takes up the entire atrium of the Lotte World Mall, but there isn’t quite as much merch inside as you might expect. There are Pokemon card boxes (Korean versions) along with loads of plushies as well as stationaries, pouches and… golf balls? And tennis racquet handles. A bit of a mixed bag this time around.

The big sellers are the Pokeball badges. An entire set of shelves were devoted to plastic Pokeballs which each held one of 150 different badges featuring different Pokemon. They’re, of course, completely random which is why so many folks were grabbing handfulls and heading to the checkout counter. In the 30 minutes we were there, the staff were constantly coming back out to restock them.

Our biggest find was the New Year’s Pikachu and Horsea bell which were exclusive to Pokemon Center shops in Japan. Every year Yakushigama (a ceramic ware brand) produces a two Pokemon themed items for the new year. This year, in accordance with the blue dragon, their bell design features a Pikachu holding a Horsea. They released in December exclusively in Japan… and then immediately sold out. They’re only available through resellers now on eBay and elsewhere for about 60 to 80 USD. So imagine our surprise when we found them for 20,000 KRW (~16 USD).

To be honest, we were disappointed by the lack of event exclusive items. The only one we found was a Lapras X Pikachu event t-shirt that was completely sold out. It would’ve been nice to see something for the Pokemon Town or maybe even a plushie of a Lapras with a Pikachu riding its back. Alas, we had to make due with a stressed out Psyduck from a gachapon machine, a “1, 2, and… Poof!” Slowpoke, and the rare ceramic New Year’s Pikachu Bell.

The Pokemon Town 2024 with Lotte event will be running until May 19th at the Lotte World Mall. If you (or your kids) are fans of Pokemon, we’d highly recommend going. Between all the pop-ups at Seongsudong and the Hyundai, it might be tempting to skip this one… but it is by far one of the best we’ve been to in Seoul.