Shopping fest for foreigners opens online

The charms of Korean culture and entertainment are being showcased online at the 2022 Korea Grand Sale, until Feb. 28.

The festival kicked off Jan. 13, with an online K-pop concert livestreamed on YouTube, featuring boyband Tomorrow X Together, a dance crew from Street Woman Fighter, Lachica and girl group Everglow.

This year‘s annual shopping festival focuses on K-beauty as the main theme, bringing together popular Korean beauty products. Some 40 active beauty brands are offering special benefits and discounts throughout the festival period.

For foreigners missing travels to Korea due to lingering uncertainties caused by the pandemic, the festival features online cultural walking tours to offer an experience of purchasing Korean beauty, fashion and food items on popular travel destinations.

In collaboration with the nation’s e-commerce operators Gmarket and 11st for a convenient online shopping process, discounts are offered up to 60-percent on K-pop themed goods and other daily merchandises.

For purchases on Lotte, Shinsegae and Hyundai duty-free stores, duty-free points will be accumulated accordingly.

Under the travels category, relevant companies and travel agencies joined to display promotions on flights, accommodations and travel-related activities.

Discounts for early-bird promotions are offered up to 80 percent, with additional benefits on cultural experience activities, hotels and tourism products.

Video lectures of experts on Korean cuisine, language, and craftsmanship are also offered at a discounted price for foreigners willing to experience and learn Korean culture at a deeper level. 

“We hope Korea can be widely introduced to foreigners as a ‘shopping tourism destination’ through this event, and play the role of raising expectations for future travels after the pandemic,” a Culture Ministry‘s official said.

Hosted by the Culture Ministry and the Visit Korea Committee, the Korea Grand Sale has made its first open in 2011, to attract foreign tourists in winter, known to be the off-season of Korea’s tourism.

Updates on festival events can be found on the website, koreagrandsale.co.kr.

By Kim Hae-yeon (hykim@heraldcorp.com)