Taubman Opens Shopping Theme Park in South Korea

Taubman Centers Inc. in Bloomfield Hills, a developer and owner of luxury shopping malls, has announced the opening Starfield Anseong in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Billed as a shopping theme park, it is the second joint venture between Taubman Asia and Shinsegae Property.
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Starfield Anseong
Taubman Centers has opened Starfield Anseong, a shopping theme park in South Korea. // Photo courtesy of Taubman Centers Inc.

Taubman Centers Inc. in Bloomfield Hills, a developer and owner of luxury shopping malls, has announced the opening Starfield Anseong in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Billed as a shopping theme park, it is the second joint venture between Taubman Asia and Shinsegae Property.

The 1 million square foot shopping, entertainment, and dining destination is Taubman Asia’s fourth development project. It will serve as the primary mall for Anseong, one of the fastest-growing areas of South Korea.

Taubman reports Starfield Anseong is nearly 100 percent leased, with more than 90 percent of tenants open. The mall, which is expected to be fully occupied by the end of the year, is anchored by Shinsegae Factory Store, E-Mart, Toy Kingdom, and entertainment concepts such as Aquafield, Sports Monster, and Megabox, an upscale cinema.

Starfield Anseong also offers 280 fashion, dining, and entertainment concepts. In response to the global pandemic, the mall has implemented a wide variety of enhanced safety protocols in accordance with legal requirements, Taubman officials state.

“Starfield Anseong represents the best of the collective expertise of Shinsegae Property and Taubman Asia,” says Paul Wright, president of Taubman Asia. “We are pleased to offer this impressive assortment of retail, dining, and entertainment experiences to customers in Gyeonggi.”

Starfield Anseong’s international brands include Zara, Nike, Uniqlo, H&M, Vans, COS, Guess, Adidas, BMW, Patagonia, Camper, Polo Ralph Lauren, Lacoste, West Elm, and Under Armour. Popular national brands such as SPAO, Genesis, Beanpole, Studio Tomboy, Jaju, Casamia, Wonder Place, and Hanssem are also featured. Approximately 100 of the mall’s brands are the first store of their kind in this region of Greater Seoul.

“Starfield Anseong will serve customers in the southern region of Gyeonggi and will meet the high expectations of the local residents following the successful opening of Starfield Hanam and Starfield Goyang,” says Young-rok Lim, president of Shinsegae Property.

“With a high priority on customer safety, we are certain our customers will experience a true shopping theme park previously unseen anywhere in the region. Starfield Anseong’s diverse offerings such as children’s education, entertainment, and food and beverage facilities, which have proven popular in other Starfield facilities, have been strengthened and together with other popular brands making their regional debuts, are all gathered in one place.”

The mall has dedicated 113,000 square feet of space to dining options, including Gourmet Street’s eight restaurants and the Eatopia food court featuring 21 unique food kiosks, optional outdoor seating, and views of the neighborhood park.

City Market, anchored by No Brand Supermarket, offers 15 additional casual dining options, a deli, and nine specialty food concepts that include a wine shop, a butcher, and a bakery. Other dining destinations include Sanghaeru, Tokkijung, Lobster Bar, No Brand Burger, and Mansukjang.

Entertainment options and experiences include a 48,000 square foot Megabox cinema with seven screens, a 28,000 square foot Sports Monster sportsplex with everything from rock climbing to basketball, and a 98,000 square foot Aquafield indoor/outdoor water park and spa. Concepts focused on children’s entertainment include Champion 1250X and Sang Sang Sketch Play.

The mall caters to the surrounding four high-growth cities — Pyeongtaek, Anseong, Asan, and Jincheon — in Greater Seoul. The mall has parking for more than 4,400 vehicles and is located near the Pyeongtaek train station. It also has good freeway access and can be reached by the Gyeongbu Expressway (links Seoul to Busan) and the Pyeongtaek-Jecheon Expressway (connects to Eastern Korea).

Taubman Centers, founded in 1950 by the late A. Alfred Taubman, is an S&P MidCap 400 Real Estate Investment Trust engaged in the ownership, management, and/or leasing of 26 regional, super-regional and outlet malls in the U.S. and Asia. Taubman’s area properties include Twelve Oaks Mall in Novi and Great Lakes Crossing Outlets in Auburn Hills.

In February, the company had entered into a merger agreement with Simon Property Group Inc. in Indianapolis, but in June Simon announced it would attempt to terminate the deal. The matter is now subject to a legal challenge in Oakland County Circuit Court, with Taubman seeking to consummate the merger.