Opening of the Korea Grand Sale 2015!
- Welcome events at six international airports (Incheon, Gimpo, Gimhae, Jeju, Yangyang, and Cheongju)
- Bountiful gifts (gold keys and air tickets) for 84 days
The curtain-raiser event for the Korea Grand Sale 2015, the largest-scale shopping/tourism festival ever held in the country, is being held on December 1, 2014. The Korea Grand Sale 2015 will be held for 84 days from December 1, 2014 to February 22, 2015. The local governments of Seoul, Busan, Gyeonggi, Gangwon, Chungbuk, Gyeongbuk, and Jeju and 28,000 stores and 135 businesses, including major department stores, duty-free shops, hotels, large-scale marts, shopping malls, and performance agencies, will provide foreign tourists with discount benefits and souvenirs, in addition to holding special events.
On December 1, a welcome event is being held to announce the commencement of the Korea Grand Sale 2015 by major local governments and the six international airports of Incheon, Gimpo, Gimhae, Jeju, Yangyang, and Cheongju. At Incheon Airport, which is the main airport of entry to the country, a photo zone will be installed in the arrival area on the first floor. A welcoming atmosphere will be created for incoming foreign guests by a group of college students representing the Visit Korea Committee (VKC), who will deliver welcoming messages and present welcome kits. Also at other airports, young volunteers dressed in traditional hanbok costumes will greet incoming foreign guests and present them with welcome gift kits and brochures publicizing the Event.
Until this year, the annual event has been held in January through February. This year, however, it will begin in December. In December, which is designated as Visit Korea Month, the Lucky Box Event will be held on Fridays and Saturdays. Five hundred-plus prizes, including gold keys, are ready at the event booth in Myeong-dong, Seoul to be presented (by prize draw) to foreign visitors who submit receipts for the goods they purchase. A total of 1,000 tickets for the SBS Awards Festival (SAF) (20-31/12/2014) will be presented to foreign visitors to Korea during the Visit Korea Month online and at the event booth, providing them with an opportunity to enjoy a hands-on experience of Hallyu (the Korean Wave), including popular TV dramas like My Love from the Star or The Heirs, and to watch how a TV program is made. Foreign tourists will also have a good time in sessions like audience participation contests, meetings with the stars, and autograph sessions for fans.
The Special Theme Week, which will be held after the Visit Korea Month, will be composed of the Must-See (January 9-23), Must-Do (January 24 – February 7), and Must-Buy (February 8-22) periods. During the Must-See period, foreign tourists will be allowed to see two of the following non-verbal performances with a ticket: Sachum (Dance If You Love), Bibap, Fantastic, Jump, etc. During the Must-Dee period, theme parks like EVERLAND, Onemount, and Woongjin Play City or performance venues like KLIVE will offer a discount of more than 50%; while cosmetics chains such as Nature Republic and Beyond will offer generous gifts. During the Must-Buy Period, in which Chinese New Year’s Day (Chunjie) falls, the country’s leading distribution businesses including Lotte, Shinsegae, and Hyundai Department Stores will hold a wide variety of promotional events designed to help customers experience the joy of shopping. The event booth installed at Dongdaemun will hold a special makeup event and a Hansik (Korean style) Tasting event in addition to performances suited to relevant themes.
The Luxury Shopping Pass Event will be held for international visitors (via online and mobile devices) until December 31, 2014. More than 100 people will win two-way air tickets offered by Korean Air, Asiana, Jin Air, and Jeju Air, vouchers for a stay at the Hotel Lotte, prepaid cards that can be used at a duty-free shop, tickets for the K-Pop Concert held to commemorate the Korean Grand Sale 2015, and much much more. The 888 Lottery Event held at the event booth (in conjunction with online means) will also provide foreign tourists with free gifts like two-way air tickets through lottery. The Mobile Stamp Event, which presents foreign tourists with gift packages according to the number of stamps they collect from the places they visit, will be held at the event booth in Myeong-dong and Dongdaemun and the tourist information center in Apgujeong-dong with the support of KORAIL Airport Railroad, Premium Pass, Etude House, CU Convenience Store, and Foot Locker.
What’s more, holders of Master Card, the official sponsor of the Event, are eligible for cash vouchers and additional discount benefits at the Donghwa Duty Free Shop and Etude House according to the price of their purchases during the Event period. As for other special events, Doota will distribute designer shopping bags commemorating the Event; KORAIL Airport Railroad will provide mobile handsets for foreign travelers and diverse special discount services for travel packages; and Yeongcheon Market in Seodaemun will help foreign visitors boost their enjoyment of the country’s traditional market by providing interpreters on weekends.
Secretary General Han Gyeong-a of the VKC said, “As the Korea Grand Sale 2015 is being held from December this year, we intend to create a year-end holiday atmosphere by staging welcome events and the Lucky Box Event. We will do our best to make it a shopping and tourism-related merrymaking event that offers a cornucopia of things to see and enjoy, in order to make sure that foreign tourists feel fully satisfied with the diverse shopping benefits and opportunities to experience Korean culture and other things uniquely Korean we are providing.”
The Korea Grand Sale 2015, which is a huge promotional event designed to attract foreign tourists and invigorate domestic demand during the off-season, is hosted by the Visit Korea Committee. Its sponsors include the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST), Korea Tourism Organization, Korea Association of Travel Agents, and Korea Performing arts & Tourism Association. It is supported by Master Card, Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, and Doota. For further details, please visit (www.koreagrandsale.co.kr).
