In love with Line

THAI FANS of Line characters seen in the popular chat application no longer need to go to South Korea or Japan to buy official Line merchandise. Thailand’s first Line store opened last Friday at Bangkok’s Siam Square One.

The store offers more than 2,000 items based on the app’s popular characters.

The 200-square-metre store is just an hors d’oeuvre, however. It’s part of a Bt500-million Line Village Bangkok due to be completed by the end of this year – a three-storey, 1,500sqm indoor theme park filled with digital amusements. 
The new shop will have 11 of the main Line characters on view in both virtual-reality format and in theme rooms.

It matches the style of Line Friends stores around the world, with a gigantic Brown the Bear doll at the front door. This being Thailand, though, the local likeness of Brown has his paws raised in a wai to greet customers. And inside, he and his pals are riding in a tuk-tuk.
Though compact, the store is filled with more than 2,000 items, from clothing and stationery to dolls and accessories. 

Peangpen Praisang, co-founder of PR agency Public Hit, calls herself “a true fan of Line”. 
 “The first thing I do when I wake up is grab my phone and check Line,” she says. “I’ve downloaded almost every Line Friends sticker, so I’m familiar with all the characters and I’m willing to pay for the related products. 
“The different Line characters are cleverly designed to match different people’s style. The female bear Choco suits me best because she’s media-savvy and loves fashion and shopping.”

Kampanart Wonghongkul 

Kampanart Wonghongkul is licensed by Seoul-based Line Friends Corp to run Line Village Bangkok and serves as chief executive.
“There are 45 Line Friends stores and cafes in major cities around the world, but Line Village is the new business model and Bangkok is the first in the world,” he says.
“We spent about two years developing the concept, working closely with Line headquarters in South Korea, and expect to draw 12 million visitors a year once it’s fully completed.”
The Line application has users in more than 230 countries and territories. Line Thailand says better than 94 per cent of Thais who have mobile Internet use it – making Thailand the second-largest market in the world after Japan. Nielsen research shows that Thais spend an average of 234 minutes a day on their smartphones, and a third of that time they’re looking at Line.

The sticker characters introduced in 2011 were immediately popular because they’re fun to send and receive and easily fit into people’s daily routines. The characters are now the stars of collectible items, animated films, games and cafes. Line Thailand reckons that about 500 million sticker sets were downloaded last year.

An artist’s rendering of the Line Village Bangkok, a 1,500-squaremetre indoor theme park. 

“Visitors to Line Village Bangkok will get a one-hour experience with interactive media, animations and games from Brown’s house, Cony’s kitchen, James’ room, a garden and a plaza, as well as places to take pictures, play digital games and enjoy snacks,” Kampanart says. 
“There are also VR headsets Line developed with Samsung to take visitors through fun experiences with Line characters in virtual reality.”
Until July 30 you can try the VR headsets at the Samsung booth at Siam Square One. 

Headsets put visitors to the Samsung booth at Siam Square One in virtual adventures with Line characters.

Admission to Line Village will cost around Bt800, and you’ll be able to download a special set of Line Village stickers to your mobile device.
“The Line office in Seoul has more than 1,000 designers and the main design of Line Village came from there, ensuring that every character and style and all content precisely matches the brand identity,” explains Kampanart. He’s worked in out-of-home media and the events and printing businesses under the Dymaxtion brand for 20 years. 

An artist’s rendering of the Line Village Bangkok, a 1,500-squaremetre indoor theme park. 

“A team of 100 designers, both Korean and Thai, have worked together to produce hi-tech mapping of this indoor adventure park to bring to life all the characters.
 “I always spend my leisure time travelling to amusement and theme parks in different countries, like Universal Studios and Disney,” Kampanart says. “Collecting figurines and characters is also my hobby. 
“It’s long been my passion to set up an attraction in Bangkok. Luckily, my project and the ambition of Line Friends Corp to expand the new platform merged. Line is mainly concerned that the location must be in the No 1 shopping area of Bangkok, and the space I have and my working background were perfect pieces for the jigsaw puzzle.”
Limited-edition items available exclusively in Thailand will hit the store when the project is fully completed. They’ll include a wai’ing Brown doll and the whole gang in their tuk-tuk. 

Lamy x Line Friends

Also on sale are goods produced in collaboration with world-famous brands. You can get a Lamy fountain pen, Swarovski necklace, Arabia coffee mug, Bookbinders notebook and Dabbawalla kid’s lunch bag.

Swarovski x Line Friends

Keen customer Sawan Pipoosananont says she’s “a hardcore fan of Brown” and eager to see Line Village open.
“I expect it will be a lot of fun. I’m just back from South Korea and visited all the Line stores in Seoul. I’ve fallen in love with all the Line characters in the stickers, so with the merchandise and souvenirs it’s like they’ve come to life and become touchable. 
“I didn’t spend my pocket money on cosmetics – just on Line stuff. Please don’t ask me how much I spent in Korean won – I don’t want to count!”

IT TAKES A VILLAGE
The Line store is open daily from 10 to 10 at Siam Square One, opposite Siam Paragon.
 Line Village Bangkok will officially open by the end of this year. 
 Follow the “LineVillageBangkok” page on Facebook for updates.