Minister Lee Young: "We Will Achieve 3 Trillion Won in Sales at This Year's Donghaeng Festival"

SMEs and Small Businesses' Largest Consumer Festival 'Hwanggeumnyeok Donghaeng Festival' Held Throughout September
90 Local Events, Three Times More Than May's Donghaeng Festival

Lee Young, Minister of SMEs and Startups, is announcing the promotion plan for the '2023 Hwanggeumnyeok Donghaeng Festival' on the 23rd at the briefing room of the Seoul Government Complex Annex.

"This year at the Donghaeng Festival, we will achieve sales of 3 trillion won."

Lee Young, Minister of SMEs and Startups, said this on the 23rd at a briefing in the annex briefing room of the Seoul Government Complex while announcing the promotion plan for the '2023 Hwanggeumnyeok Donghaeng Festival.' Minister Lee stated, "Last year, the Donghaeng Festival was held twice and recorded sales of 1.2 trillion won," adding, "This year, it will be held three times, and already in the first event in May, sales of 1.2 trillion won were achieved."

The Hwanggeumnyeok Donghaeng Festival, the second act of the largest domestic consumption event for SMEs and small business owners, will be held throughout September. Since its inception in 2020, the Donghaeng Festival has been held as a consumption event to promote the sales of SME and small business products. This year, it has evolved into an economic revitalization campaign and will be held three times in May, September, and December.

Following the May event, this autumn festival is promoted as a campaign to express gratitude during the Chuseok holiday, support each other, and invigorate the spirit (氣) of economic actors. Regional events will be held nationwide, tripling the number from May to 90. Starting with the 'Daegu Chimaek Festival' on the 30th, regional events such as the Jinhae ‘Gunhang Sangkwon Blossom Street Revitalization Sales Exhibition,’ Yeonggwang ‘Bulgapsan Sangsa Flower Festival,’ and Incheon ‘Bupyeong Pungmul Festival’ will continue throughout the month.

The opening event will be held on September 4th in Daegu Dongseong-ro. To symbolize the unity of companies and citizens in revitalizing the local economy, Daegu fashion designers and citizens are preparing a special fashion show. Offline promotional events such as a flea market, visiting live commerce, and Sodam Sanghoe popup stores will also be held concurrently.

Participation of local hometown companies has also expanded. While only one company, Daejeon Seongsimdang, participated in May, this time 23 hometown companies from 17 regions, including Daegu Samsong Bakery, Gwangju Gungjeon Bakery, Suwon White Windmill Bakery, and Jincheon Saenggeo Jincheon Rice, are joining forces.

The official social media (SNS) challenge of this Donghaeng Festival will be the ‘Donghaeng Festival Enterprise (氣UP) Challenge,’ where participants throw water bottles to stand them upright. It symbolizes continuing hopeful challenges and standing tall like Ottogi. Participants write their wishes or support messages for the Donghaeng Festival, then throw a water bottle to stand it upright, filming their challenge and success to upload on SNS.

The Donghaeng Festival period will be divided weekly, with a nationwide 'Economic Actor Spirit Revitalization' challenge held each week. The first week’s ‘Delicious Small Business Spirit Revitalization’ is supported by Coupang and Yogiyo with discount coupons for popular restaurants. The second week, ‘Local Commercial District’ week, will feature participation in Donghaeng Festival regional events, visits to local creators and century-old stores, and promotional campaigns. Nonghyup, Shinhan, and BC Card support local commercial district users with a 10% billing discount at century-old stores. The third week, ‘Family and Relatives’ spirit revitalization week, plans to create an atmosphere of expressing gratitude by purchasing Chuseok gifts made by SMEs and small businesses. The fourth week, ‘Traditional Market’ week, will hold traditional market visit events and Chuseok shopping campaigns. Mobile Onnuri gift certificates will resume 10% discount sales before Chuseok. Nonghyup Card participates in supporting traditional markets with a 20% billing discount nationwide.

Major online promotional events will also be held. Under the concept of ‘Thankful Consumption’ for Chuseok, 45 major private online shopping malls and 54 public shopping malls operated by government and local governments will issue discount coupons (up to 50%), time-limited specials, and special exhibitions. Additionally, O2O (Online to Offline) platform companies such as Baedal Minjok, Yogiyo, Kakao, and KT, which operate regionally based delivery and brokerage services, actively participate in supporting small businesses struggling with offline sales by providing discount coupons and advertisements. The 300 Donghaeng products selected through a 4-to-1 competition can be found on the official Donghaeng Festival website. By adding favorite products to a wishlist and participating in purchase certification events, participants can also have a chance to win prizes.

Overseas market development events will also be held. From September 14 to 17, a promotional event linked to the Premium Consumer Goods Exhibition in Indonesia is planned. In Japan, a showcase will be operated from September 15 to 17 to promote our SMEs listed on Qoo10 Japan. Additionally, the 2023 Korea Sourcing Week, connecting SMEs and domestic and international buyers one-on-one, will be held for two days starting September 21. Promotional events for the Donghaeng Festival will also be held at Incheon Airport Panpan Duty-Free Shop and 10 global distribution channels.

Minister Lee Young of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups said, “This Donghaeng Festival unites all regions and has been prepared together by large corporations, SMEs, ventures, and startups,” adding, “I ask everyone to participate in revitalizing our economy’s spirit by visiting nearby popular restaurants and traditional markets and purchasing products from SMEs and small businesses through small acts.”

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