COEX K-POP Square Billboard Seoul

The COEX K-POP Square Billboard in Seoul is the enormous curved LED screen wrapped around the exterior corner of the COEX Artium building at 513 Yeongdong-daero, Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu. It faces K-POP Square near Samseong Station and sits within Gangnam's Outdoor Advertising Free Display Zone, now branded Gangnam Eyes. The screen is widely known as COEX K-POP Square, the COEX 3D billboard or the former SMTOWN media facade. Its current operator, CJ CGV, calls the asset K-POP LIVE. That name matters when requesting availability or a current media proposal. In July 2026, CJ CGV completed a full display renewal. The upgraded K-POP LIVE now provides 12K ultra-high-definition output and brightness of up to 12,000 nits. It remains a full-motion, curved digital landmark designed for large-scale brand films, K-pop content, media art and viewpoint-dependent anamorphic creative. The refresh makes older online specifications and rate cards unreliable for present campaign planning.

COEX K-POP Square Billboard Seoul sits at COEX Artium exterior, 513 Yeongdong-daero, Gangnam-gu, Seoul 06164, South Korea, Asia-Pacific. The map opens tilted so you can read the surrounding building massing and approach sightlines; switch the lighting to night to see the environment as the screens are actually seen.

The screen wraps two exterior faces of the COEX Artium building above K-POP Square. It is in Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, immediately east of the Samseong Station side of the COEX complex. The principal ground-level viewing area is the plaza around Exit 6, where pedestrians can stand far enough from the facade to see both sides of the curved canvas. The environment combines Line 2 commuters, COEX convention delegates, Starfield COEX Mall shoppers, World Trade Center office workers, hotel guests, tourists, K-pop visitors and road traffic approaching from Yeongdong-daero and Teheran-ro. COEX describes K-POP Square as being next to Samseong Station, Starfield COEX Mall, COEX Artium and Hyundai Department Store's Trade Center branch. Its business page says an average of approximately five million people pass through the plaza per month. This figure establishes the scale of the surrounding place; it is not an audited impression count for the billboard, a unique-reach figure or a guarantee that every passer-by sees a particular advertisement.

This guide covers only the large, curved screen on the COEX Artium exterior. It does not cover: Those products have different owners, sightlines, screen geometry, schedules and prices. A proposal described only as “COEX media” may include several of them, so advertisers should require the asset name K-POP LIVE and a marked location plan.

• the freestanding Parnas Media Tower on Yeongdong-daero;
• Hyundai Department Store's H-Live/H-Wall media facade;
• screens inside Starfield COEX Mall or Starfield Library;
• station media inside Samseong or Bongeunsa stations; or
• other digital units in Gangnam Eyes, along Teheran-ro or elsewhere in Seoul.

The World Trade Center Seoul complex is owned by KITA. WTC Seoul Co. describes itself as the professional property and facility manager for KITA's WTC Seoul assets, while COEX markets K-POP Square for events and promotions. The billboard's media operation is a separate role held by CJ CGV. The original facade opened in 2018 through a collaboration involving Samsung Electronics, CJ Powercast and the Korea International Trade Association (KITA). Samsung supplied the LED display technology, KITA was the central property stakeholder, and CJ Powercast operated and commercialized the media. The corporate chain has since changed. CJ Powercast was absorbed by CJ OliveNetworks in October 2021. In December 2021, CJ CGV took over CJ OliveNetworks' outdoor-media advertising business. CJ subsequently identified K-POP Square/K-POP LIVE among the digital media platforms operated by CJ CGV. This history explains why old media kits and case studies name CJ Powercast. For a campaign planned today, CJ CGV is the relevant media operator, while COEX is the useful contact for activity in the physical plaza beneath the screen. COEX separately markets K-POP Square for events and brand activations and states that plaza bookings can be linked with advertising media.

The defining feature is the continuous curved corner. Instead of treating two walls as unrelated rectangles, the facade connects them into one wraparound canvas. Standard video can cross the corner without a hard visual break, while anamorphic content uses the screen's geometry to create apparent depth from a chosen viewing position. Samsung's documentation for the 2018 installation recorded an approximately 81 m × 20 m display covering 1,620 m², with a 7,840 × 1,952-pixel canvas, 10 mm pixel pitch and brightness up to 9,000 nits. Those figures describe the original hardware. On July 1, 2026, CJ CGV announced that the display had been fully replaced in collaboration with Kinoton. The operator now states: CJ CGV has not publicly stated the new exact pixel matrix, pixel pitch, media-file dimensions or whether the usable commercial canvas exactly matches the old physical dimensions. Advertisers should therefore obtain the post-renewal K-POP LIVE production specification, rather than building artwork from the legacy 7,840 × 1,952 template.

• 12K ultra-high-definition output;
• brightness of up to 12,000 nits;
• improved detail and anamorphic depth; and
• a reduction of up to 9% in maximum power use compared with the former display.

COEX K-POP Square is best known internationally for d’strict's WAVE, first shown in 2020. The artwork transformed the curved facade into what appeared to be a glass tank filled by a violent ocean wave. It demonstrated how perspective, simulated architecture, shadow and motion can make flat LED content appear spatial from a specific viewpoint. The screen does not create true glasses-free volumetric 3D. The effect is an optical illusion produced in a two-dimensional video file. It is strongest when the viewer stands in the creative's intended viewing zone, normally within the open square. Content still needs to work from secondary angles for pedestrians and vehicles who do not occupy the “sweet spot.” Anamorphic production should be treated as a specialist creative project. The agency needs the current screen model, corner geometry, camera position, safe zones, playback codec and a test-and-approval schedule from CJ CGV. A conventional TV commercial simply stretched across the canvas will use the scale but not the distinctive spatial opportunity.

The value of advertising in Gangnam Seoul comes from the mixture of business, retail, entertainment, tourism and events. Weekdays skew toward office and convention audiences; evenings and weekends bring shopping, dining and leisure. COEX exhibition calendars can materially change the audience from week to week. The billboard also has earned-media potential. Strong 3D creative is frequently photographed from the square and redistributed through social platforms, press coverage and campaign case studies. That secondary attention can be commercially valuable, but it should be measured separately from physical screen delivery. Billboard Guide did not find a current, operator-published screen-specific reach or impression methodology for K-POP LIVE. COEX plaza traffic, station use, mall visits and event attendance should not be added together or relabelled as billboard impressions. Buyers should ask CJ CGV whether the current proposal includes measured audience, modeled impressions, proof-of-play logs or post-campaign reporting, and what each metric represents.

K-POP LIVE is a premium direct-sale digital OOH product. CJ CGV has not published a current rate card, standard spot length, daily play count or share-of-voice structure for the renewed screen. The correct buying process is: COEX's published plaza rate—KRW 10 million per day for either of its listed 35 m × 17 m sectors, excluding VAT—is event-space rental, not the price of the K-POP LIVE billboard.

• Contact CJ CGV's advertising/media business through its official enquiry route and specify K-POP LIVE at COEX K-POP Square, Samseong-dong.
• Request the July 2026-or-later media deck, availability, production specification and content policy.
• Provide campaign dates, spot length, budget, brand category and whether anamorphic production is required.
• Confirm guaranteed plays, operating hours, loop length, share of voice, proof of play, blackout periods and taxes.
• For a ground activation, contact COEX separately and ask both parties to coordinate the media and plaza components.

Current screen pricing is available by quotation. Cost is likely to vary with duration, season, inventory demand, spot length, frequency, exclusivity, creative support and any multi-screen package, but the operator must confirm the commercial model. Old documents circulating online quote monthly packages and fixed daily play counts. They predate the 2026 display renewal and, in many cases, the transfer of the business to CJ CGV. They should not be presented as the current COEX K-POP Square media cost. For a comparable proposal, ask the operator to separate:

• media value and guaranteed delivery;
• anamorphic or standard production costs;
• technical adaptation and testing;
• content approval or localization;
• plaza/event rental, if applicable;
• monitoring and reporting; and
• VAT and any agency fees.

CJ CGV documented content running from 06:00 to 24:00 for a 2024 public campaign across K-POP LIVE and other Seoul media. For the July 2026 relaunch, it scheduled approximately five minutes of new media art from 18:00 at one-hour intervals. These examples show that advertising, K-pop material and public media art share the platform, but they do not establish the current commercial loop. Buyers should confirm current daily operating hours and category restrictions in writing. They should also ask whether public art, civic messaging, maintenance, special events or K-pop programming reduces the commercial inventory available during the requested period.

For conventional full-motion creative, use large subjects, short copy and strong contrast. Keep important faces, logos and text away from the bend until the latest pixel map and safe zones are supplied. For an anamorphic execution: Product reveals, dimensional typography, portals and objects interacting with simulated architecture can communicate depth clearly. Keep the brand visible long enough to work within a shared loop.

• agree the primary viewpoint before storyboarding;
• test against an accurate 3D model of the renewed facade;
• make the opening understandable without sound;
• retain brand recognition outside the sweet spot; and
• allow time for on-screen testing and revisions.

These examples show how the curved COEX facade has been used for anamorphic media art, fashion, food and renewed K-POP LIVE launch content. Match every reference to the current K-POP LIVE asset before using it in a buyer presentation.

• WAVE by d’strict (2020)

  the landmark public artwork that made the Seoul anamorphic 3D screen internationally recognizable.

• Charles & Keith Fall 2022

  a brand-documented 3D OOH campaign shown on K-pop Square and other Seoul screens, using products that appeared to swing toward the audience.

• W Concept (2023)

  an anamorphic fashion campaign using the brand's “W” and seasonal textures, shown at K-POP Square and H-Live.

• A Twosome Place (2024)

  a month-long 3D holiday cake campaign at K-POP Square, supported by other COEX-area outdoor media.

• NIGHT FISH and renewal artworks (2026)

  d’strict's new piece, alongside works from Palomino and Beta Creative, launched with CJ CGV's upgraded display.

The Yeongdong-daero Underground Space Complex is under construction between Samseong and Bongeunsa stations. The integrated transit center is currently reported for construction completion in 2029 and operations in 2030. Construction can affect pedestrian routes, hoardings, road conditions and photography positions. Request recent site photographs and survey the location close to the campaign dates.

K-POP LIVE suits advertisers seeking a visible Gangnam brand statement, a Seoul product launch or anamorphic creative designed to travel beyond the site. It is especially relevant to entertainment, technology, fashion, beauty, automotive, travel and premium consumer campaigns. It is less suitable for inexpensive local frequency or campaigns unable to support adaptation to an unusual canvas. A broader Seoul DOOH plan may then provide more efficient reach.

1. Contact CJ CGV's advertising/media business through its official enquiry route and specify K-POP LIVE at COEX K-POP Square, Samseong-dong.
2. Request the July 2026-or-later media deck, availability, production specification and content policy.
3. Provide campaign dates, spot length, budget, brand category and whether anamorphic production is required.
4. Confirm guaranteed plays, operating hours, loop length, share of voice, proof of play, blackout periods and taxes.
5. For a ground activation, contact COEX separately and ask both parties to coordinate the media and plaza components.
6. media value and guaranteed delivery;
7. anamorphic or standard production costs;
8. technical adaptation and testing;
9. content approval or localization;
10. plaza/event rental, if applicable;
11. monitoring and reporting; and
12. VAT and any agency fees.
13. agree the primary viewpoint before storyboarding;
14. test against an accurate 3D model of the renewed facade;
15. make the opening understandable without sound;
16. retain brand recognition outside the sweet spot; and
17. allow time for on-screen testing and revisions.