Hyundai has a handful of these brand experience centers around the world. There are four in Korea—Goyang, Seoul, Hanam, and Busan (read our experience at the Hyundai MotorStudio Goyang or watch our experience at MotorStudio Goyang) and there are three elsewhere—Moscow, Beijing, and Senayan Park in Indonesia (read our experience at the Hyundai MotorStudio Senayan Park).

At the oldest of these brand experience centers, the one in Seoul, Hyundai is commemorating its 100 millionth vehicle produced with their exhibit entitled, “One Step Further: Again, the First Step.”

Spanning three floors of the six-story building, it chronicles Hyundai’s milestones as a carmaker. From its first efforts to assemble the Ford Cortina, a vehicle so poorly received in the Korean market because it was ill-suited to their roads and how that led to the Pony, its first independently-produced car, to its latest EVs.

Welcoming visitors is a restored light blue Cortina. With its “FORD” lettering, one assumed it was placed there by accident. Next to it, a first-generation Pony. And of all the possible iterations Hyundai could have picked, an Ecuadorian yellow taxi with 1.5 million kilometers on the odometer served as the example; no doubt to prove that Hyundai vehicles could go the distance.

The first floor also happens to house a small shop of Hyundai-related lifestyle goods including pins, postcards, and yes, even diecast scale models.

On the second floor, it chronicles the corporate history as its production processes evolved. Told through dioramas, memorabilia, and poignantly enough, family photos of employees, it tells how Hyundai has transformed lives, especially to the everyday Korean.

Want a cup of iced Americano? Here is also where a Paul Bassett Café is housed.

A floor up, the unmistakable whiff of petrol fills the air as early versions of the Sonata (launched in time for the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games), Scoupe, and Elantra are displayed. This includes how Hyundai progressed from using licensed Mitsubishi engines to their own proprietary ones. Next to it, the table of draftsmen along with a one-is-to-one blueprint of the Sonata’s profile showed how cars and their components was done before the time of computer aided design.

Since the Hyundai Motorstudio Seoul is a functioning dealership (you can even take current and historic cars on a test drive), at the fourth floor, the all-new 2026 Palisade takes the entire floor, while at the fifth, its two cutting-edge EVs, the Ioniq 9 and the Ioniq 5 N.

Over the years, Hyundai has achieved many firsts, including Korea's first independently produced car, its first proprietary engine, and the world’s first mass-produced hydrogen electric vehicle. These accomplishments were made possible by bold and courageous first steps toward the future. Each step has shaped Hyundai’s more than-50-year journey, leaving marks in their customers' lives—from their first car to their first family road trip—culminating in the milestone of 100 million vehicles produced.