Hyundai Department Store Group announced Thursday it will break ground on The Hyundai Busan, a next-generation hybrid shopping complex, in October.

The group plans to open the Busan location in the first half of 2027, followed by The Hyundai Gwangju in the second half of the same year.

The project is expected to require nearly 2 trillion won ($1.46 billion), with some 700 billion won allocated for the Busan site and 1.2 trillion won for the Gwangju site.

The Busan complex will be located in the Eco Delta City special planning zone in Daejeo-dong, Gangseo District, on a 111,000-square-meter plot, with a gross floor area of 200,000 square meters and 69,000 square meters dedicated to retail space.

The Hyundai Busan project was originally planned as an outlet but has since been upgraded to the flagship The Hyundai format. Meanwhile, construction for The Hyundai Gwangju is set to begin in July after the company filed for a building permit in February.

A company official described the new locations as “The Hyundai 2.0”—a more evolved model following the success of The Hyundai Seoul, which opened four years ago with an emphasis on immersive, experiential design.

Busan’s western region was selected for its strong growth potential as a newly emerging economic center. Eco Delta City, the designated site, is Korea’s first national smart city pilot project and is expected to accommodate 76,000 residents and 30,000 housing units by 2028.

The complex will integrate elements of department stores, outlets, and shopping malls, forming a hybrid retail ecosystem. It will feature an indoor mall for premium goods, an outlet section for value-focused products, and an outdoor area for trend-driven merchandise. About half the retail space—roughly 33,000 square meters—will be an immersive experience zone that incorporates natural landscapes, inspired by landmarks like Paris’s Grand Palais.

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