[THE INVESTOR] Mega discount shopping event Korea Sale Festa ended Saturday, with participating brands seeing major boosts in sales, but the festival will continue through cultural events and additional discount offers through Oct. 31, organizers said.

The Visit Korea Committee has set up an event center at Korea’s fashion hub Dongdaemun to provide various services for visitors during the bargain sale organized specifically for foreigners.

Visiting tourists can receive free translation services in Chinese, English and Japanese along with free Wi-Fi access, prizes and more until Oct. 31, the committee said. To keep tourists entertained, each week will be themed, the committee added. The Must-See Week that runs until Sunday, for instance, offers performances including traditional the Korean fan dance, K-pop dance and flash mobs in traditional Korean costume.

Korea Sale Festa is a shopping and tourism festival that began Sept. 29 with an aim to revive the sluggish domestic economy.

The grand shopping gala was scheduled to coincide with China’s National Day holiday of Oct. 1-7.

According to the Korea Tourism Organization, some 250,000 Chinese tourists visited the country during the holiday week. Major department stores saw their sales increase during the period. Last week, sales at Shinsegae Department Store jumped 9.7 percent, Lotte Department Store 6.2 percent and Hyundai Department Store 4.6 percent over the first 10 days of last year‘s Korea Black Friday.

This year, 249 companies participated from different industries, including Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor.

Korea’s leading automaker Hyundai Motor prepared 5,000 additional automobiles to sell during the event after its initial run of 5,000 units sold out in five days, with sport utility vehicle Santa Fe being one of the most popular models.

“Thanks to sales posted during the Korea Sale Festa, our Santa Fe model ranked first place by domestic sales last month. It is rare for a SUV to perform that well in the domestic market,” said a Hyundai Motor.

Korea’s electronics giant Samsung Electronics said sales at its offline stores rose by as much as 43 percent on-year over the first five days of the event.

By item, refrigerators sold the most, posting a 43 percent sales hike, followed by washing machines, which rose 29 percent, the firm said.

Samsung will offer a total of 12 items with up to 53 percent of discount at Samsung Digital Plazas nationwide along with its online shopping sites until the end of this month.

Samsung Electronics also offers up to 200,000 won ($180) cash back to customers who purchase products marked with the highest level of energy efficiency.

By Kim Bo-gyung/The Korea Herald ()