HiKR GROUND, located in central Seoul¡¯s tourist-friendly Jongro area, allows you to experience K-pop with all your senses. A massive media wall is the first thing you¡¯ll see upon entering the entrance to HiKR GROUND. The media wall features media art connected to the exhibitions occasionally held here. The grand exhibition takes up the entire massive screen, covering a whole floor of HiKR GROUND. There¡¯s a glass wall in front of the media wall that allows you to see it from the outside, so you can check out the wall when you pass by if you¡¯re curious about the exhibition¡¯s theme on display at the HiKR GROUND.

After heading up the steps connected to the media wall on the first floor, you¡¯ll step into the world of K-pop. But before jumping onto the brilliantly lit stage, it¡¯s best to look around the display set up in one corner of HiKR GROUND. There, you can try on various K-pop gear, such as sunglasses, gloves and hats for free.

Once you¡¯ve had your fill of trying on all that gear, it¡¯s time to become the star of a K-pop video. HiKR GROUND¡¯s stages all allow you to set their lighting in different ways, and you can even choose your own music. If you don¡¯t know where to start, it¡¯s probably best to try out the ¡°Subway¡± stage first. The stage looks exactly like the inside of a subway car, allowing you to change the scenery outside the subway car¡¯s windows as you wish. The ¡°Spaceship¡± stage has similar features. Using the screen and fluorescent lighting, you can try a popular dance challenge with a background that makes it look like you¡¯re swimming through space. If you want something more charming and less showy (and without the in-your-face virtual screen and lighting), the Laundry Room might be for you. The space is a pastel-colored laundry room that could have come from a comic book. No matter which one you choose, all these stages allow you and your friends or family to have a blast taking photos with scenes from K-pop videos in the background.

Once you¡¯re done taking photos, it¡¯s time to move to the real deal at ¡°My Stage.¡± This space is special because it allows you to change everything―even the floor―to whatever you want. XR technology makes it possible to change the virtual background to make it feel like you¡¯re near a seaside, in space, or at a fireworks display. The stage is shaped like a half-column, and it¡¯s more spacious than other areas, so multiple people can come up on stage for group dances. There are four cameras installed in the ceiling to film the stage from above, so you can record everything done on stage from various angles. And don¡¯t forget to place the video you took on your USB (though you have to bring the USB yourself)!

After losing yourself in a stage play, you can then head to a world exhibition called ¡°HiKR Entertainment.¡± The exhibition¡¯s narrative has the head of HiKR Entertainment identify talented people from all across the country to be trained as K-pop stars. The cartoonish characters in the exhibition can teach you dancing, or you can make a video together.

Head one floor up if you aren¡¯t satisfied with just enjoying K-pop at HiKR GROUND. Starting on the third floor, there are spaces to experience tourist sites in Korea or temporary, special exhibitions related to the Korean Wave. At the entrance to the third floor, there is the North Wall, which is a painting by Seo Do-ho. As you head upstairs, looking at the house built with delicately colored cloth, you can see various tourism spots in Korea illuminating the massive columns of the ¡°HiKR Tower.¡±

Due to its wide horizontal stage, ¡®My Stage¡¯ is suitable for shooting group dance challenges. ©Korea Tourism Organization

The fourth floor features a HiKR Cave that allows you to experience local tourist sites. A widescreen shows a video of the main tourist sites in Korea while, on one side, there are images of each scenic spot along with scents from those places. Suncheonman Bay National Garden, Seogwipo Forest of Healing and Sancheong Donguibogam Village, among other places, are currently being exhibited. On one side of the fourth floor, there is a virtual reality space where you can visit filming spots from Korean dramas―you should explore here if you want to go on a brief trip somewhere else! On the fifth floor, there is a cafe to take a quick break, along with various pamphlets about a variety of places in Korea. You may have come to experience K-pop, but there¡¯s also a traveler¡¯s center where you can quench your thirst for Korean tourism as well.