Traveling to Korea at half price Misaki Futamata, left, and Mana Amano walk in Myeong-dong, downtown Seoul, on Aug. 30. They visited Korea to shop during the Korea Grand Sale, which offers attractive discounts to foreign tourists through Oct. 31. Courtesy of Visit Korea Committee Korea Grand Sale: Shop, dine, travel with deep discounts By Chung Ah-young Misaki Futamata, 21, has frequently visited Korea to attend K-pop shows and meet "hallyu" stars. But this time, she, along with her friend Mana Amano, 20, came here mainly to shop during the Korea Grand Sale, which offers unprecedented discounts for foreign tourists. The annual sale event, which began on Aug. 14 earlier than scheduled and will be held through Oct. 31, was organized by the Visit Korea Committee to boost the nation's tourism industry, which was recently hit by the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak. Some 32,000 retail outlets owned by 320 companies, including department stores, duty-free shops, airlines, hotels, performance venues, transportation and theme parks have joined the sale event. Ibis Ambassador Hotel in Myeong-dong offers a free additional night in a junior suite to foreign travelers who book for one night. They paid a total of 174,900 won for two nights. "I saw the Korea Grand Sale online and downloaded many coupons from its webpage. Then I came to Korea to shop with only almost half the money I usually spent in my past trips," Futamata said in an interview with The Korea Times. During their stay in Korea from Aug. 30 to Sept. 2, the two saved a total of 1.14 million won ($955) from their original budget of 2.5 million won. "It's incredible. I bought cosmetics and clothes at almost half the original prices during this visit," Futamata said. She and her friend traveled to Korea with two round-trip Asiana Airlines tickets from Haneda for 55,000 yen (536,800 won). After arriving at Gimpo International Airport, they had lunch at Jinjinbara, a traditional Korean restaurant, at 38,000 won each, including a 15 percent discount. Doota, a shopping mall in Dongdaemun, offers 50 to 60 percent discounts to foreign tourists. They checked in at Ibis Ambassador Hotel in Myeong-dong, which provides a free additional night in a junior suite to foreign travelers who book for a night. They paid only 174,900 won for two nights. On the second day, they went shopping at cosmetic stores, such as Olive Young, which offers a 50 percent discount. Some brands at Lotte Duty Free in Myeong-dong offer discounts of up to 80 percent. On the third day, they went to Everland, the nation's largest theme park, which provides a 50 percent discount. Everland, the nation's largest theme park, is offering 50 percent discounts. "This is the first time for us to visit Everland. I think Everland is more exciting than Tokyo Disneyland because we could take both a safari tour and other rides here," Futamata said. Although the theme park in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province is quite a distance from Seoul, they said it was worth the visit. "Next time, I want to visit the Caribbean Bay (water park)," Amano said. On the third day, they joined giveaway events at the Korea Grand Sale's event center in front of Doota Plaza in Dongdaemun Market, which also provides tourism information and interpretation services to foreign tourists. The Japanese tourists watched the Original Drawing Show, a famous non-verbal performance, at 30,000 won a ticket, half the original price. They moved to Lotte City Hotel Mapo for their fourth night at 165,000 won, 44 percent lower than the original price. Lotte City Hotel Mapo offers a room for one night at 165,000 won, 44 percent lower than the regular price. They said some of their favorite items to shop for are clothes and Korean food. "I enjoyed visiting Gwangjang Market to taste various unique Korean dishes. I love Korean food," Futamata said. Futamata is a fan of K-pop band BTOB, while Amano is a fan of Bangtan Boys. They have actively participated in amateur K-pop dance contests and other events. "Before I came to Korea this time, I was slightly worried about whether Korea is really safe now from the MERS. But once I got here, my worries disappeared," Futamata said. She said now that Korea is free from the MERS, she can encourage friends and families who are still hesitant to visit Korea. "We don't need masks anymore. The Korea Grand Sale is also happening right now during this lovely season. We don't have to worry anymore," she said. Futamata and Amano said many Japanese tourists still think that tours in Korea are expensive owing to the weaker yen, but if they visit during the Korea Grand Sale, they can save money on shopping, dining and cultural activities. "Some 80 percent of our hotel rooms were occupied in August, double the 40 percent occupancy rate in July. Our accommodation packages for the Korea Grand Sale in September are almost sold out, so we are preparing a wide range of other promotional packages," said Ryu Hee-jung, a manager of Ibis Ambassador Hotel in Myeong-dong. Other events during the Korea Grand Sale include "Must-Eat Week" (Sept. 10-16), which will be held again following the success of a previous similar event; "Must-Do Week" (Oct. 15-21); "Must-Buy Week" (Oct. 1-7); and "Must-See Week" (Sept. 24-30). For more information on the Korea Grand Sale, visit www.koreagrandsale.co.kr.