Korea Grand Festival Opens in Andong, and a 20,000-Won Concert Ticket Comes Back as Vouchers (Oct. 29–Nov. 15)
Pay 20,000 won for a concert ticket, get 20,000 won of Andong gift vouchers back at the door. This year's Korea Grand Festival, an 18-day nationwide shopping season, kicks off on Oct. 29 in the city of Andong.
Andong gets the opening night
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups picked Andong as this year's opening city. On Oct. 29 the old downtown hosts an opening ceremony, K-pop performances and an exhibition-sale of standout small-business products.
The festival runs through Nov. 15, 18 days in all, with ten ministries and about 40,000 manufacturers, retailers and small businesses on board.
"Following the Korea-Japan summit, being chosen as the opening city of Korea's flagship consumption festival means a great deal to Andong," Mayor Kwon Ki-chang said.
A 20,000-won ticket that pays you back
The opening celebration concert is on Saturday, Oct. 31, on a special stage behind Andong Station. It runs about 150 minutes. Every zone costs 20,000 won, and the on-site ticket booth hands back 20,000 won in Andong Sarang gift certificates.
Those vouchers are spendable at local shops, so the ticket money stays in town.
How to book
Tickets are on NOL (Yanolja). Sales opened Oct. 8 at 9 a.m. and run until sold out, two tickets per ID.
On the day, collect a wristband at the ticket booth (14:00–17:20) and bring your booking record and a physical ID. Doors open at 16:00.
Deals across the country
70,000 lodging coupons for areas outside the Seoul region are being issued, and Andong adds cashback on its mobile Andong Sarang voucher. Reports also say free admission to national heritage sites is part of the festival.
The 'Sangsaeng' consumption lottery (Oct. 15–Nov. 15) rewards Digital Onnuri payments of 30,000 won or more, with double entries for spending outside the Seoul area.
Before you go
There is no parking at the venue and nearby lots are expected to fill early, so take public transport.
The booking page is Korean only and no performers have been announced. It does not say whether a foreign phone number works, so check before you buy.