With the advancement of AI technologies, temporal efficiency has increased, and in parallel, remote and flexible work arrangements have become widespread as a result of social distancing measures during the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, time blocks that were previously imposed by others and often regarded as meaningless—such as commuting hours, meetings, and company dinners—are now subject to active self-management by individuals. In this context, there is a growing trend toward the more efficient use of time for personal purposes. These social transformations are driving a reconfiguration of urban space, from a rigidly segmented pattern of land use toward a more fluid spatial structure shaped by social networks and cultural practices.
In contrast to large-scale urban development that standardizes specific spaces and prioritizes quantifiable outcomes, experimental initiatives at the community scale are generating diverse types of spaces through experimental initiatives. these approaches enhance the attractiveness of place—namely, its ‘power of place’—by continuously evolving space on a demand-driven basis through processes of social consensus-building. Historically, location functioned as the principal determinant of spatial power. Following the global pandemic, however, the power of urban space increasingly depends not only on its physical accessibility but also on the cultivation of psychological intimacy, generated through the unique inspiration and unexpected forms of enjoyment that specific places afford.
In response to these social transformations, the Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) has begun to restructure monotonous urban spaces—planned primarily on the basis of functionality and efficiency—into emotionally resonant environments endowed with a strong ‘power of place,’ offering citizens everyday experiences of enjoyment and psychological comfort. Concretely, these initiatives seek to reconnect previously segmented urban spaces by using walking—an inherently slow and relaxed mode of movement—as a key medium, thereby fostering diverse encounters among people to transform the city into a place where individuals can pause and contemplation. At the same time, SMG has proposed urban and architectural design guidelines that facilitate the creation of multiple narratives through experiences of nature and culture in urban environments that are free from physical and social barriers. However, such efforts do not substantially diverge from the good place-making approaches that SMG has continuously pursued through physical environmental improvements, including the enhancement of pedestrian conditions, the creation of barrier-free environments, the reactivation of underused spaces, and citizen-participatory urban regeneration.
In this context, the study examines emotional branding, which has recently been actively explored in the field of marketing communication. Emotional branding departs from conventional communication strategies that focused solely on emphasizing the utilitarian benefits of products, and instead concentrates on fostering an affective bond between consumers and products. This orientation resonates with SMG’s emotional urban policy, which aims to reinforce the “power of place” in existing urban spaces—previously oriented toward quantitative growth on the basis of functional efficiency—by heightening psychological intimacy through sensorial experiences and serendipitous enjoyment that stimulate citizens’ emotions. At the same time, pop-up places, characterized more by spontaneity and playfulness than by purely utilitarian and rational patterns of spatial consumption, endow urban space with emotional qualities by generating chance encounters among people and offering distinctive, sensory experiences at the level of the individual.
Accordingly, this study proposes infusing monotonous urban spaces with lyrical sensibility and creating emotionally rich environments through emotional branding with pop-up places. Drawing on the procedures of emotional branding—comprising (1) relationship, (2) sensorial experience, (3) imagination, and (4) vision—it presents strategies for designing emotional spaces using pop-up places that stimulate users’ senses and evoke affective communion with them.
(1) Relationship
In order to create emotional places through emotional branding, it is first necessary to identify the core consumer group that has (or can develop) a meaningful relationship with these places. In general, because public policies are generally designed for whole citizens, they have often resulted in standardized spaces that erode the unique attributes and distinctiveness of place, or in unnecessary spaces that fail to reflect users’ needs, owing to supplier-driven, rather than user-centered, approaches to project implementation. In contrast, identifying a core consumer group and designing a given space in accordance with their consumption characteristics and lifestyles can ensure both spatial distinctiveness and practical effectiveness in the creation of emotional places. This, in turn, provides an important basis for determining the appropriate level of sensorial experience, as well as the intensity and direction of the public-interest messages to be communicated.
Spatial experiences that successfully stimulate the emotions of the core consumer group are communicated to other potential users through word-of-mouth and, once accumulated beyond a certain threshold, begin to function as a shared reference point. At this stage, space managers must avoid falling into ‘customer myopia’ and instead continue to adapt to the evolving needs of their users. In this regard, particular attention should be paid to the revisits of the core consumer group, as repeat visitors are those who recognize the true value of the space and act as intermediaries in disseminating that value to others. Accordingly, rather than indiscriminately adding new elements, a more effective strategy for enhancing the sustainability and scalability of emotional places is to operate pop-up places in a manner that deepens and refines the core values of the space that initially appealed to the core consumer group.
In many public-sector-led implementations of pop-up places, projects have been designed for the enjoyment of the general public at large rather than for a clearly defined target group. However, in some instances, pop-up places have been conceived as customized emotional spaces, either by transforming the identity or function of an existing space or by tailoring spatial experiences to the needs and lifestyles of a specific target group. At the same time, even when a core consumer group was not explicitly identified at the planning stage, the patterns of emotional resonance and participation that emerged during actual use often contributed to the formation of a distinctive spatial identity and, in some cases, led to the emergence of a new core consumer group.
(2) Sensorial experience
Once the core consumer group has been identified, it becomes necessary to create emotional spaces capable of responding to their aspirations and needs. The formation of such spaces, which evoke and stimulate people’s emotions, does not begin with the construction of grand new facilities; rather, it begins by layering content that people like and can relate to onto existing spaces. Even when the physical environment is being (re)designed, it is crucial to conduct a careful analysis of the local context and its specific characteristics and to use these as the basis for composing ‘spaces with stories.’ In this regard, sufficient prior processes—such as literature reviews, on-site surveys, and interviews with local residents—should be undertaken to derive the unique narratives and symbols of the area in question and translate them into spatial content.
For locally driven narratives to translate into emotional resonance with the core consumer group, it is essential to provide a wide range of opportunities for sensorial experience. The pleasure and excitement elicited through the five senses in emotional places constitute a core element of emotional branding, offering playfulness and enjoyment, as well as rest and solace, that differ from the rational and utilitarian forms of satisfaction typically associated with conventional urban spaces. To provide such highly personal and distinctive sensorial experiences, diverse efforts are required to test and combine different modes of engagement. These may include lowering physical and psychological thresholds to participation so that anyone can easily access the emotional place; broadening the spectrum of experiential content through cross-disciplinary collaboration; and generating new forms of sensorial experience by integrating online and offline modes of communication. In doing so, it is crucial to maintain a balance between sensorial diversity and cognitive consistency. In the absence of place-based cognitive coherence, heterogeneous sensorial stimuli are likely to be perceived as confusing; conversely, if sensorial stimuli are overly constrained, the space may fail to capture people’s interest, thereby diminishing its recognizability.
As the case studies demonstrate, the sensorial experiences afforded through pop-up places function both to differentiate emotional places from other types of environments and to enhance users’ preference for, and loyalty to, those spaces. In most instances, not only the physical characteristics of the sites where pop-up places were implemented but also their historical and cultural contexts were carefully taken into account. On this basis, sensorial elements and devices were selectively employed that aligned with the intrinsic qualities of the place while simultaneously leaving a strong and memorable impression. Depending on the objectives and modes of implementation of each pop-up place, planners deliberately modulated the intensity and density of sensorial messages, thereby clearly imprinting the intended emotional image on users. Furthermore, in order for temporally limited pop-up places to develop into sustained forms of spatial engagement rather than remain one-off experiences, efforts were directed toward securing cognitive consistency in addition to sensory diversity. By sequentially operating various types of pop-up places under a common theme or concept, or by repeatedly applying and subtly varying specific modes of expression and design, users were enabled to perceive their continually renewed sensorial experiences as belonging to a single, coherent emotional place.
(3) Imagination
At the stage of imagination, space becomes emotionalized on the basis of the sensorial experiences encountered in pop-up places. Users combine stimuli perceived through the senses with their own affective experiences to confer emotional meaning upon space; in this process, sensorial stimuli move beyond mere perception into the domains of emotional interpretation and internalization. The manifestation of such imagination is characterized by its concretization and diffusion through direct and indirect interactions with others, rather than remaining at the level of simple sensory stimulation. This is because the actors who design and manage the ‘hardware’ of emotional places, those who produce and provide their ‘software’ in the form of content, and the users who ‘consume’ both the hardware and software of emotional places are all human beings. By engaging in dialogue with people to identify the features and content of the emotional experiences they have had in a given space, and by continuously offering new and enjoyable sensorial experiences in response to their affective responses, it is possible to enhance both preference for, and loyalty to, emotional places.
At this moment, authentic communication is not conceived as the unilateral transmission of messages by the sender, but rather as a dialogic process in which the characteristics and intentions of the audience are anticipated in advance and the modes and media of communication preferred by them are deliberately selected so as to engage them at their level of understanding. Accordingly, in emotional branding it is crucial to carefully design communication techniques that can elicit emotional resonance among people. The needs and desires of those who consume emotional places may be directly identified through methods such as face-to-face interviews, surveys, and online comments, or indirectly inferred by continuously observing behavioral patterns, such as users’ movements and points of pause or stopover. The continuous and positive emotional rapport formed through these processes provides a basis for deepening trust in, and broadening awareness of, emotional places via both inward (internalized) and outward (expressive) forms of emotional articulation. Furthermore, through the expansion of human networks grounded in the direct participation and mutual support of local residents, emotional resonance with such spaces can evolve and intensify beyond the individual level to that of the local community.
In the cases of pop-up places, it was observed that emotional resonance within spaces was not confined to simple sensorial stimuli, but was instead concretized and disseminated through direct and indirect interactions among users. Unexpected on-site encounters and face-to-face exchanges were found to strengthen emotional bonds between individuals. Because pop-up places came to function not merely as venues for temporary spatial consumption but as arenas for spontaneous social and cultural interaction, cumulative emotional attachment to these spaces was generated. In addition, the indirect sharing, deepening, and diffusion of emotional experiences via social media emerged as a salient feature. Users reconfigured their personal affective responses by narrativizing their experiences in pop-up places through photographs, videos, and textual posts on social networking services. The emotional experiences shared by earlier visitors elicited expectations and empathetic responses among subsequent visitors, who, in turn, re-shared their own on-site experiences online. In this way, a circulatory structure was formed in which emotional experiences spread recursively. Such bidirectional communication functioned as a catalyst for consolidating the positive image of the space or transforming it into a new one.
(4) Vision
To maintain the emotional superiority of spaces achieved through emotional branding, it is necessary to articulate a vision that can be collectively shared with users. emotional places cannot easily secure broad-based support and loyalty solely on the basis of emotional experiences at the level of individual users. Accordingly, emotional branding requires a concept capable of emotionally engaging and attracting people; here, ‘concept’ refers to a form of differentiated value. In the context of public projects, there is a strong tendency to become absorbed in the abstract and overarching goal of the ‘public interest.’ Thus, when applying emotional branding in the public sector, the concept should not be framed in overly grandiose terms. Instead, emphasis should be placed on providing, from the perspective of ordinary citizens, a distinctive spatial value that is perceived through emotional experiences such as enjoyment and excitement.
At the same time, emotional places are not static entities but possess a life cycle that evolves over time. As alternative spaces of a similar character emerge, new trends come to the fore, and facilities physically deteriorate, the initial allure of the fresh sensorial experiences they offer is inevitably weakened. Accordingly, it becomes necessary to engage in an ongoing process of reconfiguring and rearticulating the meaning and value of such spaces in line with users’ evolving needs, while preserving the authenticity of emotional places that provide playfulness and enjoyment, rest and solace, and opportunities for emotional resonance.
In many successfully implemented cases, it was observed that preference for, and loyalty toward, emotional places tended to be reinforced when a vision was shared that could be collectively empathized with and jointly enacted, extending beyond individually experienced emotional episodes within pop-up places. Moreover, on the basis of this shared vision, the meaning and value of the spaces were continuously redefined through the ongoing modification and reconfiguration of pop-up places. Ultimately, in order to expand and reproduce over the long term the emotional rapport formed through pop-up places, it is essential to present a clear vision that—grounded in social trust between the actors who plan and operate emotional places and their users—enables them to sustain and deepen their emotional connectedness.
(5) Build an adaptive platform for the evolution of pop-up places
Even if emotional branding through pop-up places introduces contingency into urban space and enhances the pleasure and attractiveness of an emotional space through creative spatial experimentation, the inherently spontaneous and flexible nature of pop-up places requires deliberate governance to strengthen emotional ties between place and its users. To cultivate such emotional bonds—without undermining the authenticity of the emotional space—it is essential to continuously monitor evolving user needs and to generate new emotional narratives through interdisciplinary collaboration. This strategy can encourage repeat visitation and diverse leisure practices, thereby reinforcing place attachment, while also expanding social networks mediated through the space. Ultimately, these processes may function as a catalyst for proactive civic participation in place improvement and, over the long term, may contribute to achieving the level of brand resonance. By contrast, pop-up places that operate merely as one-off consumable experiences delivering unilateral emotional stimulation tend to produce only fleeting impressions of place. As such, they remain insufficient to realize genuine emotional communion with space—often conceptualized as the “third place”—in its fullest sense.
Accordingly, the diversification of emotional branding necessitates the continuous internal transformation and external recombination of pop-up places. As key sites where emotional experiences—the central component of emotional spaces—are produced and mediated, pop-up places provide a means to intensify the depth, scope, and strength of emotional branding. From this perspective, an emotional space should evolve into an adaptive platform in which pop-up places are continuously reconfigured and expanded, rather than remaining temporary, episodic interventions. Meanwhile, as emotional bonds with place intensify, even identical sensory stimuli can elicit heterogeneous and individualized emotional interpretations among users. This personalization of sensory experience facilitates the evolution of emotional spaces into “third places,” becoming places that individuals perceive as their own. Such experiential differentiation, in turn, constitutes a direct mechanism through which the emotional character of place is continuously reproduced and reinforced—that is, through the ongoing emotionalization of space.