Netizens Disappointed By Start of Korea's First 2-Week "Black Friday" Event

Korea’s first “Black Friday” event kicked off today (October 1), and will run for two weeks, wrapping up on October 14. Much like its American counterpart, the event comes after Chuseok, Korea’s Thanksgiving of sorts, and hopes to yield similar results to the annual shopping craze from the United States.

Before the event, many expressed their desires online to take advantage of the event and buy products on their wish list. Twitter users posted information that huge retailers like E-Mart and Lotte Mart would be holding 50-percent discounts and expressed their interest in visiting these stores. In contrast, however, many also showed doubt that there would actually be any meaningful discounts.

“They’ll just put an 80-percent discount on unwanted products, while the more important ones receive less than a 20-percent price deduction. Waiting is key. I’ll just wait another month and order directly from overseas,” a Twitter user said.

With the start of the event, many confirmed their suspicions, returning home heavily disappointed in the amount of sales, as well as the items that were chosen for discounts. Netizens said, “It only took a few seconds for my ‘maybe..?’ to turn into an ‘of course,'” and, “I knew it.”

Other users said, “They shouldn’t use the phrase ‘Black Friday’ so loosely. Just call it a fall sale,” and, “The sales are the same sales that are always around.”

Meanwhile, 71 department stores, 398 large scaled markets, and 25,400 convenience stores are participating in the event.

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