Starbucks Korea Shuts Stores for History Lesson After Blundered Promotion
In response to a disastrous promotion that evoked painful memories of a pro-democracy massacre, Starbucks Korea will close all its stores for a mandatory history lesson. Over 2,000 locations will shut down on June 22nd, allowing staff to participate in lectures on modern Korean history and social sensitivity training. This costly measure, estimated to cost 2.1 billion won in lost sales, aims to demonstrate the company’s seriousness in preventing future marketing blunders. The incident, which involved a “Tank” tumbler promotion on the anniversary of the 1980 Gwangju massacre and a slogan referencing a notorious torture case, led to boycotts and significant backlash.
John Q. Hosedrinker