2024 Donghaeng Festival Achieves 4.5 Trillion KRW in Sales Performance

December Donghaeng Festival Records Direct Sales of 612.8 Billion KRW

The nationwide consumer promotion event, the Donghaeng Festival, has successfully concluded.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 8th that the December Donghaeng Festival (12.1~12.28), which began on December 1 last year, recorded direct sales of 612.8 billion KRW through online and offline channels, achieving a total sales performance of 4.5 trillion KRW last year.

Specifically, online sales amounted to 535.9 billion KRW through special online exhibitions on channels such as Naver Shopping and 11st, as well as TV home shopping. Offline sales reached 76.9 billion KRW through regional special sales events by local Small and Medium Venture Business Offices and department stores such as Shinsegae and Hyundai. Additionally, Onnuri gift certificates worth 174.4 billion KRW and local love gift certificates worth 21.7 billion KRW were sold.

The scene at the opening ceremony of the December Donghaeng Festival held at Red Road, Hongdae, Mapo-gu, Seoul. Provided by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups

The December Donghaeng Festival served as the closing event for the 2024 Donghaeng Festival journey, supporting various promotions including exclusive exhibitions and live commerce centered on 100 Donghaeng companies that participated in the May and September festivals. Furthermore, 30 regional special sales events were held to contribute to revitalizing the local economy.

Public institutions and private companies also participated, including Homeplus’s ‘Year-end Sharing Plus Box Donation Event,’ Megamart’s ‘Local Small Business Flea Market,’ and the Small and Medium Business Corporation’s ‘Love Kimchi Sharing Event.’

The Donghaeng Festival, held three times in 2024, continued to stimulate consumption with diverse concepts for each session: regional in May, global in September, and sharing in December. Notably, the opening event, which had previously been held only domestically, was held overseas for the first time (September Donghaeng Festival, Hanoi, Vietnam). At this event, excellent products were showcased to overseas buyers and consumers through export consultation meetings and pop-up stores, laying the foundation for small business owners to pioneer overseas markets.

Outside of the three Donghaeng Festival periods, collaborative events with credit card companies to ease dining out and grocery shopping burdens, as well as month-long regional sales events and win-win exhibitions with large retailers, played a role in establishing the Donghaeng Festival as a consumption promotion event that revitalizes the local economy.

Won Young-jun, Director of the Small Business Policy Office, stated, “Through the December Donghaeng Festival, the journey with small business owners throughout 2024 was successfully concluded,” and added, “We will strive to promote economic vitality and support local small business owners through the Donghaeng Festival in 2025 as well.”

Meanwhile, on the 9th, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups will hold the ‘Donghaeng Awards’ for participating companies of the December Donghaeng Festival at the LW Convention Center. Ten companies selected through evaluations by customer review panels will receive Donghaeng trophies, and participating companies (25 companies) will also receive online marketing expert training as well as consulting in accounting, taxation, marketing, and professional MD services.

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