SM Entertainment will open a store and cafe in Vietnam that sells food and beverage with their artist's goods for the f...
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SM Entertainment will open a store and cafe in Vietnam that sells food and beverage with their artist's goods for the first time overseas.
Vietnam's media outlets reported that SM Entertainment has opened an SMTOWN Store and Cafe in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. From July 3, they held a 'sneak-peek' event and invited 1,000 K-pop fans in Vietnam to experience first-hand the place. The official opening will take place sometime between July and September.
The project consists of 'SM Town & Store', which sells goods such as albums and posters of SM artists, and 'SM Town & Cafe', which sells coffee and dessert.
Although SM is selling goods and food and beverages together at the SM Town COEX Artium in Gangnam District, Seoul, it is known that Vietnam is the first foreign country to have such a type of store.
"The Korean Wave started in Vietnam and some other Asian countries in the 2000s and has expanded its scope significantly since then," VN Express, a Vietnamese media outlet said, adding that 51% of Vietnamese like Korean pop music.
According to the 'Vietnam content industry trends' released by the Korea Creative Content Agency in December last year, K-pop seems to be very popular there.
Vietnam's major music sites are divided into three categories: Vietnamese domestic pop, K-pop and Western pop. K-pop is ranked at the top of the overall music charts.
The report also pointed out, "It is characterized by a wide fan base of not only mainstream Korean music but also non-mainstreamers," adding, "Korean singers' concerts in Vietnam are frequently held, and there are various types of concerts."
