editorial

Words by Cyril Benjamin October 13, 2025
The coolest new attraction in South Korea’s capital does away with conventional shopping through a retro-futuristic style.
<figure id="attachment_149180" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-149180" style="width: 1200px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-149180" src="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Haus-Nowhere-Seoul-Gentle-Monster-Store-and-Nuflaat-Tableware.jpg" alt="Inside the Gentle Monster showroom at Haus Nowhere Seoul; a Nuflaat tableware display." width="1200" height="745" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-149180" class="wp-caption-text">Left to right: Inside the Gentle Monster showroom at Haus Nowhere Seoul; a Nuflaat tableware display. (All photos courtesy of Haus Nowhere Seoul)</figcaption></figure>
Cult Korean eyewear brand Gentle Monster may have won fans for its avant-garde designs and celebrity tie-ups, but it’s upped the ante since 2021 by rethinking the retail experience at locations dubbed “Haus Nowhere.” On the heels of finding success in Seoul’s Dosan area, Shenzhen, and Shanghai, its most ambitious project yet, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/hausnowhere/?DestinAsian" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Haus Nowhere Seoul</a>, has just opened in the city’s Seongsu-dong neighborhood.
Haus Nowhere’s multistory flagship is a brutalist sci-fi fantasy that defies categorization. Part store, part contemporary art gallery, the place is a futuristic anchor for the headquarters of parent company IICombined. A giant dachshund installation welcomes visitors into a ground-floor space dedicated to campaigns from IICombined’s brands; the enormous puppy helps promote the Sunshine collection from fragrance house Tamburins, with an AI-powered photo booth allowing pooch and shopper to be dressed in matching outfits. Above the Gentle Monster showroom, you’ll find a space shared by Tamburins and two new brands: Atiissu for edgy hats and Nuflaat for tableware with a bold, surrealist look.
And if you fancy a bite or a cuppa, the fifth-floor Nudake Teahouse pairs a dozen specially developed scented teas with playful desserts. Expect off-the-wall flavor combinations—lobster and chocolate, anyone?—and presentation as head-turning as the vivid theatrical surroundings.
<figure id="attachment_149182" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-149182" style="width: 1200px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-149182" src="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Haus-Nowhere-Seoul-Outdoor-Art-Installation.jpeg" alt="Max Siedentopf’s More Is More installation outside the Haus Nowhere building." width="1200" height="800" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-149182" class="wp-caption-text">Max Siedentopf’s More Is More installation outside the Haus Nowhere building.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_149179" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-149179" style="width: 1600px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-149179" src="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Haus-Nowhere-Seoul-Gentle-Monster-Showroom.jpg" alt="Gentle Monster’s second-floor showroom at Haus Nowhere Seoul features robots and giant figures." width="1600" height="1080" srcset="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Haus-Nowhere-Seoul-Gentle-Monster-Showroom.jpg 1600w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Haus-Nowhere-Seoul-Gentle-Monster-Showroom-300x203.jpg 300w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Haus-Nowhere-Seoul-Gentle-Monster-Showroom-1024x691.jpg 1024w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Haus-Nowhere-Seoul-Gentle-Monster-Showroom-768x518.jpg 768w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Haus-Nowhere-Seoul-Gentle-Monster-Showroom-1536x1037.jpg 1536w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Haus-Nowhere-Seoul-Gentle-Monster-Showroom-1568x1058.jpg 1568w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-149179" class="wp-caption-text">Gentle Monster’s second-floor showroom features robots and giant figures.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_149181" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-149181" style="width: 1200px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-149181" src="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Haus-Nowhere-Seoul-Giant-Human-Figures.jpg" alt="The retail spaces at Haus Nowhere Seoul come adorned with thought-provoking artworks." width="1200" height="810" srcset="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Haus-Nowhere-Seoul-Giant-Human-Figures.jpg 1200w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Haus-Nowhere-Seoul-Giant-Human-Figures-300x203.jpg 300w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Haus-Nowhere-Seoul-Giant-Human-Figures-1024x691.jpg 1024w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Haus-Nowhere-Seoul-Giant-Human-Figures-768x518.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-149181" class="wp-caption-text">The retail spaces at Haus Nowhere Seoul come adorned with thought-provoking artworks.</figcaption></figure>
This article originally appeared in the <a href="https://subscription.destinasian.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">October/November 2025</a> print issue of DestinAsian magazine (“Haus Proud”). Buy a single issue or subscribe <a href="https://subscription.destinasian.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

Gentle Monster’s second-floor showroom at Haus Nowhere Seoul features robots and giant figures.

Haus Nowhere Seoul is Rewriting the Retail Playbook