Self-photo booths have become very popular among young people amid the Hallyu wave.
Self-photo booths, which are unmanned photo studios that allow consumers to take their own photos using a kiosk, have become a popular part of the K-pop culture of the MZ generation (born 1981–2012).
Digital photo frames featuring popular characters such as Disney and digital photo frames that can make it seem like you’re with celebrities are also in demand. In addition to printed photos, the ability to save photos and time-lapse videos via QR codes on smartphones is also popular among young people.
“The percentage of non-Koreans is 50 to 60 percent,” said a company representative. “While the initial customers were mainly young women interested in Korean culture, the number of male customers and families wanting to make fun memories has increased significantly.”
Potobox opened its first store in Madang Mall in October 2023 and is currently expanding to 6th Street in Koreatown, San Jose, Michigan, and Texas. Potobox offers two prints for $10, with photo sizes of 2×6 and 4×6 inches. They also introduced the first photo booth in the U.S. with an overhead camera for high-angle photos, allowing for more varied and fun poses.
The store also offers props such as headbands, dolls, and puppets that can be customized, along with other entertainment options such as claw machines and arcade games. “On holidays and weekends, the number of customers more than doubles,” said Jay Kim, CEO of Potobox.
Life4Cuts, the original selfie booth, has six independent stores in California and about 161 stores in 16 countries overseas. The company is also looking to expand into shop-in-shop locations, where Life4Cuts kiosks are placed inside stores in other industries. Prices range from $8 to $12, depending on the size of the photo and the frame.
“The number of customers at Pocha 365 in LA Koreatown increased by 10 percent since the kiosk was installed,” said Jungwon Lee, manager of Pocha 365. “We can attract new customers, generate additional revenue, and promote Pocha, so it’s like killing three birds with one stone.”
In an interview with a Korean media outlet, an official from LK Ventures, the company that owns Life4Cuts, said, “The local response to our overseas stores is so strong that we have achieved a break-even point (BEP),” adding, “We will accelerate our expansion into overseas markets and increase the proportion of overseas transactions to more than 35% by next year.”
Photoism, a popular Korean photo booth, also made its debut in the United States. Photoism will have a soft opening on May 1 at Koreatown Plaza. Photoism offers a variety of photo frames, including famous idol and artist collaboration frames, birthday frames, and selfies. It also uses lighting and camera angles to retouch blemishes and facial shapes, making it a very popular photo editing photo booth service in Korea.
BY HAEUN CHUNG, JUNHAN PARK [chung.haeun@koreadaily.com]
