Exterior of Emart24’s K-Food Lab Myeong-dong. /Photo courtesy of Emart24
Emart24 opens the ramen-archive convenience store K-Food Lab Myeong-dong
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[Korea Financial Times reporter Park Seul-gi] Emart24 announced on the 16th that it will open a new specialty store, K-Food Lab Myeong-dong, where visitors can sample K-food alongside K-beauty and K-POP all under one roof — a perfect fit for Myeong-dong, Seoul’s hotspot for international shoppers.
K-Food Lab Myeong-dong will hold a two-day pre-opening on the 16th and 17th, with the official opening on the 18th. The concept strengthens K-culture experiences to match the area’s high concentration of foreign tourists.
Emart24 developed K-Food Lab Myeong-dong around its core slogan, Allday Highlight. By blending the brand promise — brightening every moment of customers’ daily lives — with distinct Korean elements, the store aims to give global visitors an intuitive, hands-on taste of modern Korean lifestyle.
To appeal to around 20 million foreign visitors to Korea, the store leans on a massive ramen assortment as its headline offering and layers in a variety of K-content experiences. Emart24 also rolled out exclusive gift sets for tourists, curated product selections, multilingual signage, tax-free kiosks and unmanned currency exchange services to make shopping easy and convenient.
Located on the main pedestrian path between exits 1 and 2 of Myeong-dong Station, K-Food Lab Myeong-dong spans two floors — a 1F CVS and K-content floor and a 2F ramen-specialty floor — covering about 39 pyeong (129㎡), roughly 1,389 sq ft, and operates 24 hours a day.
Cook your own ramen and enjoy street snacks — a true Korean ramen experience zone
Visitors enjoying ramen at Emart24’s K-Food Lab Myeong-dong. /Photo courtesy of Emart24
Emart24 opens the ramen-archive convenience store K-Food Lab Myeong-dong
Enlarge image
The centerpiece of K-Food Lab Myeong-dong is its ramen archive — a curated, almost museum-like collection of instant noodles. Step onto the second-floor ramen level and you’re greeted by an impressive “ramen archive wall” that evokes a library.
The archive wall stretches up to 2.8 meters (about 9.2 feet) and houses roughly 170 varieties of ramen, giving the space a dramatic, immersive feel. It’s one of the most extensive ramen lineups you’ll find in the convenience-store sector.
But this floor isn’t just about picking and cooking instant noodles. With dining tables and carefully designed zones, it’s built to recreate authentic Korean ramen culture. You’ll also find classic ramen side dishes — kimchi, plus favorites like kimbap and tteokbokki — so customers can build a full, local-style meal.
Aware that many international visitors aren’t used to extreme heat, Emart24 organized the ramen by spiciness. Flavors are color-coded into four levels, and product cards list spiciness in four languages (Korean, English, Chinese and Japanese), making it easy to choose the right heat level at a glance.
Everything from K-content shopping to currency exchange and duty-free
K-Food Lab Myeong-dong carries a variety of K-culture goods. /Photo courtesy of Emart24
Emart24 opens the ramen-archive convenience store K-Food Lab Myeong-dong
Enlarge image
The first floor blends standard convenience-store services with lively K-content zones to create lots to see and do.
To the right of the main entrance, there’s a pop-up area featuring beauty brands and character goods. In beauty, the store stocks 2ªN, a color cosmetics label that’s especially popular with Gen Z women at home and abroad. Reflecting the mini-size trend, about 60 best-selling 2ªN items are available, including the Mini Glaze Bouncing Tint (7,900 KRW (about $5.93)).
A K-Culture Zone showcases K-POP idol merchandise — everything from character plushes and albums to official light sticks. The selection includes 27 different idol-related items.
For travelers shopping for souvenirs, Emart24 prepared a curated K-Food Lab gift set priced at 33,800 KRW (about $25.35). The package bundles 11 fan-favorite items — including Orion Bicho Bicho, Yellow Mini Yakgwa (2 pieces), and Samyang Buldak Bokkeum Myun — in a special box modeled after the K-Food Lab building.
To make shopping smoother for international visitors, the store added payment and currency services. Near the entrance, a WowPass kiosk called Orange Square handles foreign currency exchange as well as prepaid card issuance and top-ups. Tax-free kiosks are also in operation to support duty-free purchases.
Myeong-dong’s new landmark: K-Food Lab
Emart24 aimed to make this specialty store a new Myeong-dong landmark, not just a novelty. Set against gray high-rises, the building’s bold orange exterior creates striking contrast. A large façade feature, shaped like a curve of noodle strands, adds visual impact — and at night it’s illuminated to create a unique cityscape in the heart of Myeong-dong.
Inside, the layout clearly separates concepts by floor with customer flow in mind. The first floor is a K-content hub for food and lifestyle shopping, while the second floor is devoted to ramen experiences. Multilingual signage in four languages is installed throughout to help international shoppers.
The ramen floor — the store’s signature space — pairs premium finishes with digital signage for a sensory experience. Catering to Gen Z’s social-media-friendly habits, Emart24 added a photo zone on the second floor and installed an Infinity Mirror for immersive, dreamlike shots.
Yang Ho-seung, Emart24’s MD director, said, “We’re thrilled to bring K-Food Lab, a specialty store that captures our core message ‘Allday Highlight,’ to Myeong-dong. We hope K-Food Lab Myeong-dong’s prime location, striking design and diverse attractions will make it a fresh shopping destination for international visitors.”
Emart24 has been rolling out standout stores aimed at the MZ generation — starting with the Trend Lab Seongsu flagship in November and, on March 13, the dessert-focused Dessert Lab Seoul Forest on Atelier-gil in Seoul Forest.
Park Seul-gi, Korea Financial Times seulgi@fntimes.com
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