Overview
The Samseong-dong area of Gangnam, once established as a trade center and regarded as a hub for international exchange, has served as a gateway to introduce Korea to cutting-edge businesspeople from around the world. Furthermore, since the 1990s, Gangnam's unique youth culture has been introduced, and the Trade Center area developed into a complex hub of business and a landmark for youth culture. In 2014, with Psy's 'Gangnam Style' craze, the area was designated as the Gangnam MICE Tourism Special Zone to strengthen the coexistence of international exchange business industries and Korean Wave culture. The Gangnam MICE Tourism Special Zone is centered around COEX, where exhibitions, conventions, seminars, international exhibitions, and conferences are continuous, and department stores, hotels, duty-free shops, and an urban airport terminal are organically clustered, attracting not only domestic but also foreign tourists. The Gangnam MICE Tourist Special Zone has been developed as the Korean version of Times Square, where visitors can experience holograms and augmented reality using state-of-the-art displays, as well as admire dazzling media art and advertisements displayed on giant LED billboards installed on the building's exterior.