'Small Offices' on the Rise as AI Startups Rise… Spark Plus Opens First Small Office in Gangdong

Spark Plus, a shared office company, is launching its first shared office centered on small rooms, targeting small business owners and solo entrepreneurs. The strategy is to respond to changing office demands driven by the rise of one-person businesses and small startups due to the widespread adoption of AI, while simultaneously establishing a standard model for future franchise businesses.

Spark Plus will open a new branch, 'Spark Plus Gangdong Branch,' in Gil-dong, Gangdong-gu, Seoul, this coming August.

The Gangdong branch is Spark Plus's first shared office space focused on small rooms. It marks the first instance of extending existing large-scale shared office operational experience to small-scale spaces and serves as a testbed to verify operational standards for future franchise businesses. Through the operation of the Gangdong branch, the company plans to refine space planning, operational services, and customer experience, and apply these findings to its future franchise operating models.

The Gangdong branch will occupy two floors of the Empire Building in Gil-dong, Gangdong-gu, Seoul. It is located near Gangdong Station on Subway Line 5, making it convenient to travel to major business districts such as Gangnam and Jamsil.

Spark Plus noted that while the number of one-person startups and small businesses is increasing due to the recent expansion of AI utilization, there has been a shortage of small shared offices that provide premium facilities and systematic operational services.

In particular, Gangdong-gu is growing into a new business hub in eastern Seoul, having surpassed a registered population of 500,000 this year. It is explained that demand for premium office spaces is increasing alongside ongoing station area developments and large-scale redevelopment projects. The company plans to develop the Gangdong branch into a new business hub capable of attracting freelancers, startups, and small business owners seeking nearby areas due to the burden of high rents in the Gangnam area.

"A Spark Plus official stated, 'Gangdong is a high-growth region that can share the business infrastructure of Gangnam and Jamsil, but premium shared offices have been relatively scarce,' adding, 'We expect it to establish itself as a new business hub.'"

Spark Plus recently officially announced its entry into the shared office franchise business and unveiled a strategy to expand both directly managed and franchised locations. The company plans to complete its space portfolio by securing experience in operating not only large offices but also small spaces through its Gangdong branch, and to strengthen the operational competitiveness of its franchisees based on operational data.

Son Ju-hwan, CEO of Spark Plus, stated, “The Gangdong branch marks an important milestone in expanding our spatial strategy, which was previously centered on large offices, to include small offices,” adding, “Going forward, we will continue to expand our network to spaces of various regions and sizes and share our accumulated operational know-how with franchise partners to build a mutually beneficial ecosystem.”