South Korea is launching a massive 52,000-store shopping festival to boost tickets sales to the Winter Olympics

Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images

• South Korea is launching a 42-day shopping festival which will include 52,000 stores, from 700 companies.
• The festival aims to increase ticket sales to the Winter Olympics.
• As of December, only 61% of tickets to PyeongChang had been sold.

South Korea is launching a 42-day shopping festival aimed at foreigners to increase Winter Olympic ticket sales.

The Korea Grand Sale launches on January 18 with 52,000 stores, from 700 companies, taking part.

Discounts will be offered to foreigners on flights, accommodation, restaurants and tourist sites, according to the national news agency Yonhap.

Asiana Airlines is offering Korea-bound flights from Asia and Europe at up to 60% , while low-cost carrier JeJu Air has up to 95% off.

The steep discounts are designed to entice more visitors to the Winter Olympics next month.

Ticket sales have been very slow. By December 24, only 655,000 of 1.07 million tickets, or 61%, had been sold.

Sales have been hampered by a fear of missile threats by North Korea, and a ban on Chinese tour groups visiting South Korea, in retaliation for the South's deployment of a US anti-missile system last year.

Attendance has also likely been affected by a lack of incidental tourism around Pyeongchang where the games are being staged from February 9 to 25.

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