"May Donghaeng Festival" Performance Surpasses Last Year... Recorded 1.2974 Trillion Won

Online and Offline 628.8 Billion, Onnuri Gift Certificates 284.1 Billion
1 Trillion 193.4 Billion Last Year, Up 100 Billion

The 'May Donghaeng Festival,' the first event of Donghaeng Festival, the largest consumption promotion event for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and small business owners in Korea, surpassed last year's performance.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 9th that the final results of the 'May Donghaeng Festival,' held from May 1 to 28, recorded a total of 1.2974 trillion KRW.

Oh Young-joo, Minister of SMEs and Startups, is delivering the opening speech at the 'May Together Festival Opening Ceremony' held in Busan on the 1st. (Photo by Ministry of SMEs and Startups)

Specifically, sales through online channels such as online exhibitions and TV home shopping reached 532.5 billion KRW, and offline sales including policy stores amounted to 96.3 billion KRW, totaling 628.8 billion KRW in combined online and offline sales. Additionally, Onnuri gift certificates worth 284.1 billion KRW and local love gift certificates sold during the same period amounting to 384.5 billion KRW also contributed to the sales.

This year, as collaboration with government departments and regions expanded, various product promotion events (30 in 2023 → 50 in 2024) were held vibrantly across the country.

First, at the opening event in Busan, which marked the official start of the festival, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries collaborated for the first time in the Donghaeng Festival to hold a sales exhibition for agricultural, livestock, and marine products. A dessert sales exhibition linking Busan's SMEs with a major distribution network (Shinsegae Department Store) was also held to promote excellent SME products and foster win-win cooperation between large and small businesses.

In addition, various regional events such as the Boseong 'Dahyang Grand Festival' and the Goesan 'Red Flavor Festival' helped raise awareness of SME and small business products.

In this Donghaeng Festival, reflecting the event's purpose, four models selected to represent small business owners nationwide directly participated in promotional activities. Seventy-one university student supporters and K-Global correspondents also engaged in real-time coverage of local festivals, conducting online and offline promotions targeting younger audiences.

Newly introduced SNS popular challenges such as the 'Donghaeng Nae Cut Certification Shot Challenge' and the 'Eusha Eusha Donghaeng Dance Challenge,' which captured meaningful moments of personal Donghaeng, attracted attention. The promotional video for the Donghaeng Festival featuring elementary rapper Cha Noeul surpassed 16 million cumulative views, receiving enthusiastic interest.

Won Young-jun, Director of the Small Business Policy Office at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, said, "We sincerely thank everyone who participated in the 28-day lively Donghaeng Festival," adding, "We will spare no policy efforts to ensure that the domestic and international market expansion and promotional effects of excellent Donghaeng Festival products continue steadily."

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