September Donghaeng Festival Achieves Direct Sales Exceeding 700 Billion KRW

by Lee Seungjin

Published 15 Oct.2024 12:00(KST)

First Special Event Held Overseas Beyond Domestic Market

The 'September Donghaeng Festival,' an event to promote the consumption of products from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and small business owners, has successfully concluded.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 15th that the September Donghaeng Festival (August 28 to September 28) ended with total sales of 2.4284 trillion KRW, including direct online and offline sales of 717.2 billion KRW over 32 days.

Specifically, online sales through channels such as online special exhibitions and TV home shopping reached 602.4 billion KRW, while offline sales from local promotional events and sales promotions amounted to 114.8 billion KRW, totaling 717.2 billion KRW in combined online and offline sales. Additionally, Onnuri gift certificates were sold worth 1.392 trillion KRW, providing indirect support.

Minister Oh Young-joo of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups is purchasing products while touring the sales booths at the 'Together Festival Traditional Market Sales Event' held on the 10th at Cheonggye Plaza in Jongno-gu, Seoul. (Photo by Ministry of SMEs and Startups)

This year’s September Donghaeng Festival expanded its scope globally by holding the opening event overseas for the first time, in Hanoi, Vietnam. The festival supported SMEs and small business owners in exploring overseas markets through local export consultations, pop-up stores, and the opening of exclusive stores for small manufacturers.

During the festival, collaboration with credit card companies was expanded to ease the burden of dining out and grocery shopping. Various discounts and events were promoted at Baeknyeon Gage (BC and Nonghyup cards) and traditional markets and shopping districts (Shinhan and Kookmin cards), enhancing consumer benefits.

Moreover, promotional events for small business owners and traditional markets linked with local festivals, night markets, and alleyway commercial districts were expanded compared to the previous year. Co-hosted exhibitions with major retailers were doubled to invigorate the regional economy, traditional markets, and alleyway commercial districts, continuing the festival’s momentum nationwide.

Unique promotions using various short-form videos also attracted significant attention.

Thirteen short videos, including ‘Byeolbyeol Night Market’ shorts (1.89 million views), which introduced food and entertainment from 34 night markets nationwide, and ‘My Dream is to be an Archer’ shorts (1.23 million views), featuring the Donghaeng archery event held at the Cheonggye Plaza sales event, recorded a total of 9.54 million views.

Lee Joo-hoon, CEO of Sellab, who participated in the festival’s first overseas special event, said, “We are in ongoing discussions with local buyers through the export consultation and expect to finalize contracts worth about 10 million KRW within the year.” He added, “Sales also increased by approximately 50% compared to the same month last year, which was a great help.”

Won Young-jun, Director of the Small Business Policy Office at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, expressed, “I sincerely thank everyone who participated in the September Donghaeng Festival.” He added, “We will continue to strive to ensure that the Donghaeng Festival serves not only as a platform for expanding sales channels for SMEs and small business owners but also as a stepping stone for advancing beyond the domestic market to overseas markets.”

Meanwhile, during the extended period until October 6, coinciding with the October bridge holidays, direct and indirect sales reached 182 billion KRW, including 114 billion KRW online and offline sales and 68 billion KRW in Onnuri gift certificates, supporting the sales of products from SMEs and small business owners.