"Let's Support by Eating" From Gangwon-do Potatoes to Jincheon-gun... Warm 'Donzzul' Consumer Support Trend

'Afghan Refugee Support' Jincheon-gun Shopping Mall Sees Surge in Orders
'Good Influence Store' Project Also Underway in Online Community
Expert: "Boycott Phenomenon Triggered by Desire for More Good Suppliers"

Due to the support for Jincheon County, which accommodated special contributors from Afghanistan, leading to increased consumption, Jincheon Mall announced a temporary suspension of operations on the 29th due to a surge in orders. Photo by Jincheon Mall homepage capture.

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] "I purchased with a grateful heart," "This is a response to humanity."

Recently, a culture of supporting local areas and stores through consumption using purchasing power is spreading. This is driven by the hope that positive influence will be widely propagated.

On the 29th, the online shopping mall for local specialties in Jincheon-gun, Chungbuk, called 'Jincheon Mall,' temporarily suspended operations due to an overwhelming number of orders. Through a 'Thank You and Shipping Delay Notice,' Jincheon Mall stated, "Since the report on the acceptance stance of Jincheon residents toward Afghan special contributors, many people have been purchasing agricultural specialties of 'Saenggeo Jincheon' as a token of gratitude," and added, "For products with a backlog of orders, shipping may be delayed by 1 to 2 days, and we kindly ask for your understanding."

This surge in orders contained support for Jincheon-gun, which accepted Afghan special contributors and their families. Citizens conveyed messages through shopping mall reviews such as "Thank you for raising the national dignity," "I purchased with a grateful heart," and "Buying Jincheon rice with high national dignity."

According to Jincheon Mall, since the 27th when 390 Afghan special contributors entered the Jincheon Public Officials Human Resources Development Institute, the number of orders has explosively increased. Daily orders, which were only 30 to 35 cases, surged more than threefold, and during the weekend of the 28th and 29th, orders exceeded 1,500, more than 20 times the usual volume.

Experts describe this consumer support craze as a 'Buycott.' This term is the opposite of a boycott, referring to a phenomenon driven by consumer psychology wishing for good phenomena to spread widely.

Last March, the Gangwon Provincial Government launched a potato sales campaign to revive farms affected by the COVID-19 downturn. On March 20 last year, the provincial government posted a potato consumption promotion poster (left) on Twitter to encourage purchases. Photo by Gangwon Provincial Government Twitter capture.

The Buycott phenomenon is not the first of its kind. In March last year, when Governor Choi Moon-soon of Gangwon Province sold potatoes within the province at low prices to help farmers struggling with poor sales due to COVID-19, new terms such as 'Pocketing (Potato + Ticketing),' 'Potato Crisis,' and 'PTS (Potato + BTS)' emerged, and so many customers gathered that the server crashed.

On the last day of potato sales, March 24 last year, Governor Choi posted on his Twitter, "All 50,000 boxes of the last batch were purchased in 7 minutes and 4 seconds. I am tearfully grateful," and added, "On behalf of the potato farmers, I express my respect for the warm hearts and passionate enthusiasm of the consumers."

This phenomenon has the advantage of purchasing ingredients at low prices, but above all, it contains comfort and support to revive farms depressed by COVID-19. A (24) who challenged purchasing Gangwon potatoes said, "I felt sorry thinking that the entire year's farming of Gangwon residents would be wasted, so I ordered 10kg of potatoes," and added, "I felt proud because I bought cheap potatoes and did a good deed."

Additionally, recently, a 'Good Influence Store' project has been shared on online communities. The purpose is to encourage an increase in stores that perform good deeds by consuming at stores that show positive influence, such as providing free meals for children in need.

Experts view Buycott as consumers using their purchasing power to lead the market in a desirable direction. Professor Lee Eun-hee of Inha University's Department of Consumer Studies said, "Buycott and boycott are opposites, but in fact, they are similar. Both involve consumers using their purchasing power with the hope that good suppliers remain in society," and analyzed, "Simply put, it can be seen as a 'currency vote.'"

She emphasized that sustainability is important in Buycott. Professor Lee suggested, "It is good to focus explosive power when positive influence is known, but the supplier's production capacity must also be considered," and added, "It is important to continue the consumption movement so that good suppliers can remain in the market for a long time."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.