Over 250 Distributors Join Record-Breaking Participation, 'Donghaeng Festival' Opens on the 1st

Baemin, Kakao, Yogiyo, and Other O2O Platforms Participate
Linking Over 30 Various Regional Events Nationwide
Expanded Discounts on Onnuri Gift Certificates and Local Currencies

The "2023 Together Festival for Great Success" will officially begin on the 1st. Now in its fourth year, this festival has seen a record participation of over 250 distribution channels joining in to promote the sales of products from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and small business owners. Large corporations such as manufacturers, card companies, and telecommunications firms are also participating in campaign promotions.

During the first week, discounts and promotions will be offered through a total of 203 channels, including 52 online shopping malls nationwide and abroad, 9 live commerce platforms, 9 O2O platforms, 13 public delivery apps, and 60 local government shopping malls. Major domestic online shopping malls such as Coupang, Gmarket, Interpark, and Idus will offer discounts of up to 50% on food, baby products, fashion accessories, and beauty products across 46 platforms. Additionally, 9 live commerce channels including Wemakeprice, Tmon, 11st, and Grip will host a total of 91 broadcasts featuring influencers to sell SME products. TV home shopping and T-commerce will support participating SMEs by reducing commission fees. Public Home Shopping and Home & Shopping will also provide additional shopping support to consumers through discount coupons and billing discounts. Notably, unlike last year, O2O platforms such as Baedal Minjok, Kakao, Yogiyo, Coupang Eats, KT, and LG Uplus have joined in large numbers to expand sales channels for local small business owners.

The biggest distinguishing feature of this year's Together Festival is its "regional linkage." The festival plans to boost local economic vitality by promoting consumption within regions through collaboration with 30 various regional events nationwide. Twelve regional events are prepared for the first week. These include local festivals such as the Icheon Ceramic Festival, Hadong World Tea Expo, Jinju Nongae Festival, and Yeongju Seonbi Culture Festival, as well as special sales exhibitions of excellent local products at events like the Ulsan Suam Hanwoo Festival, Yangpyeong Wild Vegetable Festival, Chuncheon Spring Light Market, Gwangju Chungjang Raon Festa, and Cheonan Soso Market, offering tourists unique local experiences and goods. Alongside this, from the 1st, eight SME policy stores and duty-free shops at Incheon Airport will hold special exhibitions of SME products, and Sodam Sanghoe plans to operate a pop-up store in the Seongsu area of Seoul from the 3rd to the 14th.

Large retail companies are also participating extensively. Large marts such as E-Mart, Hanaro Mart, and Homeplus, supermarkets like GS Supermarket and Lotte Super, and convenience stores including CU, E-Mart24, 7-Eleven, and GS25 will hold discount events focusing on food and daily necessities. Shinsegae, Hyundai, and Lotte department stores will host special exhibitions for SME products. Olive Young has prepared discount events to promote small cosmetic manufacturers. The three tire manufacturers (Hankook, Kumho, and Nexen) will participate in the festival campaign through tire discount events. Franchise companies such as "Geoljaktteokbokki" and "Ttangs Budae Jjigae" will also join the Together Festival for the first time.

Since this Together Festival is an event aimed at promoting consumption nationwide, it plans to expand discount benefits on Onnuri gift certificates and local currencies to reduce the purchasing burden. The monthly purchase limit for Onnuri gift certificates has been increased up to three times. In regions hosting linked Together Festival events such as Daejeon, Incheon, and Gyeongnam, the discount rates and purchase limits for local currencies will be raised and sold accordingly.

Now in its fourth year, the Together Festival has expanded its concept into a consumption festival enjoyed by the entire nation. Through two events held in September and December last year, it achieved sales exceeding 1.4 trillion KRW. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups, which organizes the event, plans to build on this momentum by holding the Together Festival three times throughout the year starting from the first half of this year, with a sales target of 3 trillion KRW, more than double last year's figure.

Minister Lee Young of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups stated, "I hope this Together Festival brings the joy of discounts to the public and the pleasure of increased sales to SMEs and small business owners, making it a festival where everyone achieves great success. Since government ministries, local governments, and private companies have prepared as one team, I ask the public to take great interest and actively participate."

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