On January 14th the opening event for the nation’s largest-ever shopping festival, the Korea Grand Sale 2011, was held in front of Myeongdong Theater.

World-renowned Korean break dancers worked up the crowd with their flashy moves.
The 50-day shopping festival kicked off to entice international travelers to the nation’s wide array of shopping opportunities. Myeongdong in downtown Seoul, known as the capital’s main shopping district, is inundated with tourists from all over the world hunting for great bargains.

- We are here on our honeymoon.
- We live in London. I expect to return home with some good bargains found at the Korea Grand Sale.
- I’m going to show off all the great stuff I bought here to my friends in London. So they would get really envious of the fact that we had a good time here at the Korea Grand Sale.

The 50-day Korea Grand Sale is held not only in Seoul, but also in major cities around the country, such as Busan and Jeju. Let’s hurry to the festival before all the goodies are gone.

Hong Kong and Singapore are celebrated as shopping heavens in Asia, but Korea has emerged as a new shoppers’ paradise in recent years with its wide variety of shopping and tourism opportunities. According to a survey conducted on foreign tourists by the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute in 2009, 56.5% of foreign travelers to Korea come for shopping. Launched for the first time this year, the Korea Grand Sale 2011 aims to fulfill the expectations of these foreign shoppers. Here’s Ms. Han Gyeong-ah of the Visit Korea Committee.

The Korea Grand Sale is the nation’s largest shopping and tourism festival for foreign tourists held nationwide from January 10th through February 28th. Foreign travelers to Korea will receive discounts and other amenities for shopping so that they will remember Korea as a great shopping and sightseeing destination in Asia. The festival also aims to attract more tourists to Korea. Most of the nation’s major department stores, duty-free shops, and retail stores, as well as roughly 14 thousand businesses in 52 industries, including the hotel, food and beverage, performance, and tourism industries, are taking part in the festival. This is a nationwide event in which in addition to Seoul, local cities like Busan, Daegu, and Jeju, where foreign tourists frequent, are involved.

The festival boasts a wide selection and products with exceptional quality, but it stands apart from other similar events in Hong Kong and Singapore in that it takes advantage of hallyu, the wave of Korean pop culture sweeping foreign countries. Here’s Han Gyeong-ah of the Visit Korea Committee again.

Hong Kong has long hosted a shopping festival, but this is the first time for Korea to host a nationwide shopping festival. Korea has its own appeals for international shoppers, but a variety of cultural performances and Korean pop stars have grown immensely popular in Southeast Asia, Japan, and China, which we can take advantage of to differentiate ourselves from shopping events in Hong Kong or Singapore. Also, Korean products are known for their high quality. Japanese and Chinese tourists can see for themselves that Korean products are better and more affordable than local counterparts. So I believe Korea can stand on its own as a hot shopping destination in Asia.

Seoul is not the only host for the festival. Taking place all over the nation, this shopping festival geared toward foreign shoppers has no parallel in Korean history in terms of size and grandeur. Seoul, Gyeongju, Jeonju and Busan even operate free shuttle bus services for festival participants. Here’s Han Gyeong-ah of the Visit Korea Committee to tell us more.

Foreign tourists tend to stay in just Seoul. So in order to stimulate local economies by diverting foreigners to smaller cities, we operate free shuttle bus services for foreign tourists, connecting them to Jeonju and Gyeongju from Seoul. From December 5th free shuttle buses for foreign skiers have been running from Seoul to Gangneung in the colder, mountainous region of Gangwon. We also plan to add shuttle services from Seoul to Andong and Busan this year. For individual foreign travelers we have the “One More Night” program in which a traveler gets one free night if staying at a hotel for more than three nights. There are also numerous online coupons with great savings available on the Korea Grand Sale homepage.

One of the main appeals of the Korea Grand Sale is that tourists can enjoy good eats, shopping and entertainment while traveling to major cities in Korea in comfort. Doubling the fun of shopping is a wide range of interesting events held on weekends. There is something for everyone at these events, such as photo opportunities with Pororo, an animation character serving as a PR ambassador for the Visit Korea Year, traditional Korean games, quiz contests, and raffle drawings.

When you visit Korea during the Korea Grand Sale period, you not only get big discounts on your purchases, but also get to take part in fun events. Everybody gets to win something the moment you enter the country at a drawing held at the airport. Weekend events are planned to liven up the festival atmosphere in special tourism zones. During this period Korea offers not only discounts in retail stores, but very reasonable rates in hotels, restaurants, and cultural performances. In addition, various street events are planned for the weekends so you can have a wide spectrum of experiences.

Here is a tip for more savings during the Korea Grand Sale 2011. Before you leave home be sure to visit the Korea Grand Sale homepage to find discount coupons. Here’s Han Gyeong-ah of the Visit Korea Committee again.

Information is available at the homepages of both Visit Korea Year and Korea Grand Sale. The websites are accessed in Korean and English and the coupons can be downloaded onto your mobile devices.

If you didn’t have time to browse the site and print out coupons, do not worry. Coupon booklets are available at overseas offices of the Korea Tourism Organization, Korean cultural centers, local travel agencies, Korean airlines ticketing agencies, and even at the airport information booths. Visitors can receive as much as 30% off on regular prices and an array of complimentary gifts. Now that you are armed with coupons and a sturdy pair of shoes, let’s go out shopping!

The Korea Grand Sale 2011 has just about everything - shopping at large retail outlets, department stores, and duty-free shops, tasting delicious food at family restaurants, fast food joints, and traditional Korean eateries, enjoying movies and traditional cultural performances, and getting pampered at beauty parlors and skin care boutiques. You can find whatever you desire in the shopping heaven called Korea.

Quality goods at affordable prices! What more could a die-hard shopper want? Foreign bargain hunters can’t help but get excited about all the wonderful shopping opportunities.

- I found out about the Korea Grand Sale in a PR pamphlet. So I searched for some more information, because we are here to shop!
-I think we have to buy another bag before leaving.

Foreign shoppers’ usual haunts like Myeongdong, Itaewon, Dongdaemun, and Insadong are packed with foreign tourists who have come to Korea in time for the shopping festival.

-It’s so cheap. Everything’s about 30 to 50% cheaper than in Japan. It’s much cheaper in Korea and they give us a lot of samples so we can test them out. I want to come again and do much more shopping when there is another event like this.
- It’s really cheap here. Cosmetic products are about half the prices in Japan. Shopping is fun here. I bought skin care products and some clothes. I came to buy cosmetics because Korea is famous for affordable beauty products. I want to come back to Korea. I love it here.

Foreigners’ favorite shopping district Myeongdong is an exciting place to be for Koreans as well.

- I come to Myeongdong because there are lots of different products here, like beauty products and clothes. It’s a fun place for young people.
- All the major brands are concentrated in one place and I can feel youthful energy here. It’s a great place for shopping and going out on a date.
- Myeongdong is the fashion district in Seoul. It has everything from high-end designer brands to affordable casual labels. My foreign friends love cosmetic shops and eating pancakes and bulgogi at Korean restaurants.
- There are lots of street performances or surprise events in Myeongdong. I always feel youthful and rejuvenated when I come here.

The cold winter months of January and February are not the best time for shopping and sightseeing, but all the great shopping, delicious eats, and interesting entertainment make the trip worthwhile.

- Everything is so well organized. Also fashion was interesting and diverse, and the streets were beautiful. Seoul feels like a shopper’s heaven.
- I came from Saitama, Japan. Beauty products were really cheap, so I bought a whole bunch of them. I came back for more after putting the stuff in my hotel room. I bought lots of presents like facial masks, cleansers, and foundations. Korean products are great for gifts because they’re cheap and come in large amounts.
- I couldn’t buy any sea laver or makgeoli. I’m on my way to the underground shopping mall to buy some food. I’ve been to Hong Kong for shopping, but Korea is better because they have more diverse products at lower prices. I want to come back even when there isn’t a sale.

What if you need help or more information while shopping? Or you can’t get a taxi cab late at night? Just dial 1330 on the phone for its 24-hour information service in four languages – Korean, English, Japanese, and Chinese. If you need more in-depth information, head to the tourism information desk in the basement floor of the Korea Tourism Organization building in downtown Seoul. The desk is open from nine in the morning until eight at night all year round to offer help and information for tourists.

Nearly 8.8 million foreigners visited Korea last year. Marking the second year of the Visit Korea Year program, Korea expects to see more tourists this year. The Korea Tourism Organization is reaching for the figure of 10 million in 2011, because following the Korea Grand Sale 2011 is a string of other tourism programs that are sure to call foreigners to Sparkling Korea! So don’t miss out on this spectacular opportunity to enjoy the new shopping and tourism paradise in Asia.