Samsung India’s iconic experience store Samsung Opera House in Bengaluru has completed five exciting years and in this time, it has become a hub of technology, innovation, art and culture for the city. Samsung celebrated this milestone with an exhilarating K-Pop themed cultural event called K-Fiesta where young Samsung and K-Pop fans performed to bring alive the spirit of cross-cultural unity.

This year’s theme was ‘Korea Pop Culture Extravaganza’ and Samsung Opera House hosted a lineup of events that captured the essence of Korean culture through its entertainment and culinary traditions. The event began with a Trivia Quiz and Games session centered on K-Pop culture, providing participants an opportunity to showcase their knowledge and win exciting prizes. This was followed by a high energy Dance Battle where dance enthusiasts claimed the spotlight and those with vocal prowess competed in a Voice Battle.

At the Home Theatre zone inside Samsung Opera House, an exclusive Korean movie screening unfolded for cinephiles while the Chef’s Kitchen zone proved to be a significant attraction for food enthusiasts and aspiring chefs. Fans also took some exciting photos at the cherry blossom backdrop photo booth and attended an accessory workshop, among others.

The anniversary celebration brought in an exciting crowd of over 5000 Samsung and K-Pop fans to Samsung Opera House. The cultural programmes during the K-Fiesta were judged by Samsung jury members who also presented the winners with exciting prizes.

“Samsung Opera House has completed a remarkable journey since its inauguration as a historic landmark in Bengaluru. It is today a hub of technology, innovation, art and culture for the city. Consumers, especially the Gen Z and millennials, have come to love this iconic experience store over the last five years and we will continue to bring in exciting new technology experiences for them,” said Mr. Sumit Walia, Senior Director, Samsung India.

Samsung India recently revamped the iconic Samsung Opera House in the heart of Bengaluru with exciting new technology experiences and zones for visitors. Consumers visiting Samsung Opera House can today enjoy Samsung’s complete product ecosystem and new zones such as Connected Living, Gaming Arena, Audio, Home Theatre and Lifestyle TVs, showcasing its multi-device connectivity with SmartThings, alongside a cup of coffee.

Samsung Opera House opened its doors in 2018 as a hub of innovation, lifestyle, entertainment and culture in Bengaluru with events at the sprawling plaza area, round the year.

Since it started five years back, more than 1,000 events have been organized here around product experience, consumer engagement and entertainment including Galaxy workshops on photography, doodling, video-editing, Ted Talks, fashion shows, baking workshops, movie screenings and many more.

Today, it is a must-do destination for the city’s Gen Z and millennials looking for exciting tech-enabled experiences and entertainment. One can immerse themselves in the world of gaming, experience powerful audio at the Home Theatre zone and even get to pick up some culinary skills at the in-house Chef’s kitchen workshops while enjoying the best coffee in town.

Samsung has focused on upgrading the consumer experience by not only enhancing the look and feel of the experience store but also through immersive experiences offered by a wide range of products such as QLED TVs, The Frame lifestyle TVs, Bespoke Refrigerators, Ecobubble Washing Machines, Microwaves and activity zones at Samsung Opera House

Samsung Opera House also offers a fully functional customer service centre. There is a personalisation counter where consumers have an option of choosing the phone skin and get engravings done on the covers they choose.

The 33,000 sq. ft. standalone property, which during the British era hosted plays and Operas, was restored by Samsung over two years and opened to the public in 2018. Its facade continues to don its magnificent original look and feel while on the inside, a modern experiential space has been developed with extensive use of technology.

Samsung is celebrating the fourth anniversary of its iconic experience center, Samsung Opera House, which has become a hub of technology, art, and culture since it opened in 2018.

Over its anniversary weekend, Samsung Opera House organized a captivating K-fiesta, a Korean-pop-themed cultural and music festival where hundreds of young K-pop fans from across schools and colleges in Bengaluru, including Samsung Members, grooved to K-pop songs by Indian K-pop bands. The young audience enjoyed K-pop concert screenings, movie screenings, dance performances, a cosplay competition, and an exquisite Korean cuisine workshop.

The event at Samsung Opera House had a mini flea market with stalls like K-merch, K-food, K-beauty, and Hanbok (traditional Korean clothes) trial stalls. The two-day event saw over 5,000 Samsung and K-pop fans visit the iconic experience center.

Team IndHangul, a community that runs a platform for K-pop and K-drama fans in India, in partnership with Samsung Opera House also organized a talent hunt competition “Put Your Sneakers On” with three categories – Team Dance, Solo Dance, and Vocals, and multiple games for K-pop fans.

The two-day event was a not only celebration of Korean culture but also of Samsung Opera House, which has become more than just an experience center. Samsung Opera House today is a hub where Gen-Z and millennials come together to connect, learn, and get inspired, facilitating an exchange of new and innovative ideas.

In the last four years, Samsung Opera house has hosted over 600 events that include product launches, live music, OTT Movie Premier, cultural performances, fashion shows, gaming tournaments, stand-up acts, and Galaxy workshops.

It recently hosted an event with college students on Samsung’s CSR initiative Solve for Tomorrow, which is an education and innovation competition for youth. One can immerse themselves in the world of gaming, experience the powerful audio system at the Home theatre, live multi-device experience, and even get to pick up some culinary skills at the Chef’s kitchen workshops.

Samsung Opera House continues to don the magnificent original look on its façade from the 1900s, while on the inside, it is a modern experiential space, with extensive use of state-of-the-art technology. It displays a full lineup of Samsung smartphones and wearable devices alongside flagship consumer electronic products. It also has a fully functional customer service center and is equipped with high-speed internet for people who wish to work from its Home office zone.

We lost two great Bollywood actors this week. One of them brought back memories of The Lunchbox.

Irrfan Khan played the lead in a movie by the same name. In the film, like many other office-goers in the city of Mumbai, he would have cooked food delivered to his office by the famous dabbawalas. He wouldn’t enjoy his lunch, packed by a local chef, not until a mix up by the lunch box delivery guys, connected his taste buds, and his destiny, to a lady home-maker who’d just began cooking delicious lunch for her husband, with some tips from the next door auntie, and of course, dollops of love!

That film took me back to my childhood days when I, and all the other kids, would carry our lunch boxes to school, unsure of what treasure was hidden inside them. Lunch was a time for discovery. Sometimes, it was joyful, sometimes disappointing. But the fun of opening the box in the company of friends was such a thrill.

As we grew up, and a busy lifestyle took precedence, the humble lunch box disappeared from our lives. So, when I came to India, I was pleasantly surprised to see many of my Indian colleagues at Samsung carrying a personal lunch box to office, taking them to the cafeteria during lunch-hour, heating up the food in the smart-ovens, and serving themselves. I would often be reminded of the taste of the food my mom cooked – and all the secret recipes that made the food so delicious.

Like many of our colleagues from Korea, I would also wonder at the hundreds of lunch boxes, in different shapes, sizes and colours, that lined the walls of the office building as their owners went out for a quick walk post lunch, especially during the winter months. We were intrigued, as much as we were touched by this act of love in Indian families.

So when someone introduced this film to us as a ‘must watch’, our Korean colleagues decided to watch it. Some went to the theatres, some watched it at home, while some others organized special screenings for groups of friends. It was one of the most amazing films I had watched, and certainly the best Bollywood movie. I also introduced it to my wife when she joined me in Delhi after a few months, and several of our friends.

As life’s biggest secrets are always unveiled at the theater, my first Indian movie, The Lunchbox showed me how Indian lunch box is prepared at home, handed over to the dabbawalas, transported on local trains to far off offices, and gets delivered to the loved ones, in an efficient manner. The journey of those lunch boxes and people around it, taught me how life moves here, and reaches the destination, through the beautiful chaos of the metros.

South Korea and India share similar family values. Maybe that is why we love watching Bollywood films, and why Korean movies, K-serials and K-pop are gaining popularity with millennials here.

While watching the film, we were reminded of our loved ones back home, and our parents. We could understand the ethos, and the family bonding that exists in Indian families. We also got to know more about interesting Indian cuisine – and masalas!

The characters in the film were so real, and the actors played their roles very well. I remember how the character played by Irrfan jee would wait for his lunch box, and later clean up the box. He was so natural!

So when I heard the news of Irrfan jee’s passing away, I was sad. I have watched him in Hollywood films such as Slumdog Millionaire and Life of Pi. He was not just a great actor, he was also a great example of the Genius Indian, and the Global Indian.

His film will remain etched in my memory. The story taught me that the lunch box carries the same ingredients of care and expectation, whether it’s made in India or in Korea. Only one difference is, your lunch box will find you here.

[The author of this article, Junho J Jeong, has been working in Samsung India for more than five years now. He loves walking the streets of Delhi to learn more about the flavours of India and to understand life and people here. He still can’t speak in Hindi or any other local language, though he can say Theek Hai (Alright) with much ease]

International blockbuster K-drama titles Jugglers, Queen for Seven Days and Manhole will now be exclusively available on the ‘My Galaxy’ app for Samsung consumers in India, in partnership with KBS Media. That’s not all, Samsung consumers will also get access to over 750 K-pop songs of top artists and bands such as BTS, Exo, BTOB, MONSTA-X among others.

“We value the interests and taste of our consumers and there is absolutely no doubt about the growing popularity of K-pop culture in India. Keeping in mind the evolving entertainment needs of Indian millennials, we are delighted to bring K-content on our ‘My Galaxy’ App. Samsung customers can now access K-pop music and exclusive K-drama on their favorite Samsung smartphone. We are confident that the famed K-content will resonate well with our young consumers,” said Pramod Mundra, Senior Director, Samsung India, commenting on the growing trend of Korean content consumption amongst Indian millennials.

K-pop and K-drama have become the drivers of interest in Korean culture globally. Even in India, the Korean wave is starting to gain prominence, especially among millennials. There has been special interest in Korean culture among youngsters from the age group of 18-24 years across metros and Tier 1 cities. ‘My Galaxy’ app continues to provide Samsung consumers in India the most distinctive content to meet their growing entertainment needs.

The Korean content streaming on the ‘My Galaxy’ app includes:

Jugglers – A rom-com drama, it is the story of equation between a secretary and her boss and how it completely flips outside office.

Queen for 7 days – A historical drama, it portrays the story of a queen who is on the throne for seven days and her love story with King LeeYeok and Lee Yung.

Manhole – This Korean drama captures the journey of Pil. The lead actor time travels to stop his crush of 28 years from getting married.

K-Pop – Korean pop music videos from top artists such as BTS, EXO, BTOB, MONSTA-X with over 750 songs (over 45 hours of content).

To watch the drama series and access the music bank, download the ‘My Galaxy’ app (www.tinyurl.com/hvfdx2d)

Besides K-content, ‘My Galaxy’ app offers a unique all-in-one experience including videos, music, games, news and personalized offers and updates. Currently there are over 20 million ‘My Galaxy’ app users in India.