Korea Sale Festa

[Anchor Lead]

A massive shopping and tourism festival called the Korea Sale Festa, the largest in size to date, kicked off Thursday. Thanks to sharp discounts, the festa drew a strong response from day one.

[Pkg]

Flags indicating a sale festival adorn the streets in the shopping district of Myeongdong in downtown Seoul. It's a weekday, but this department store is packed. This shopper has even purchased a gift for her husband which she has been putting off for a while.

[Soundbite] Jeong Ok-ja(Seoul Resident) : "My husband may scold me for spending money but I think I'll be complimented for getting a good deal."

Some 240 manufacturers and distributors are taking part in the discount event. In an earlier opinion poll, smartphones were chosen as the electronic gadget people most want to buy. During the festival, they can be purchased at steep discounts in the 200 dollar range. Other appliances such as TVs and washing machines are also on sale at 40 to 50 percent lower prices. Discounts of to ten percent are also offered on medium to large passenger cars. Department stores are providing generous giveaways and raffles. These include a 635-thousand dollar apartment and a nine dollar gift box filled with 27 dollars' worth of goods.

[Soundbite] Maeng Jeong-gyu(PR director, Shinsegae Department Store) : "Customers buy the gift box for 9 dollars, but they don't know what's inside."

Department store sales figures on Thursday were about 20 percent higher than those posted on the first day of the Korea Black Friday sale event.