Furniture stores draw shoppers with discounts of up to 80%.
Cultural performances and weekend activities attract families and neighborhood visitors.
Parking and access remain critical issues, while the festival is expected to give a meaningful boost to the local economy.
The old Ansan street where discounts meet celebration
Event overview
The Ansan Sangroksu furniture street festival is held each year around Bongo-dong in Sangnok-gu, Ansan.
Operating hours are generally from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., and most stores align their opening hours with the event.
Typically 35 to 41 furniture shops take part, and sometimes neighboring businesses join to expand the offering.
The most eye-catching feature is the promotional pricing: many items are discounted as much as 80% off.
Therefore the festival can pull customers away from large department stores and online retailers by offering tangible, on-site bargains and experience.
History and context
Sangroksu furniture street emerged in the 1970s and has more than four decades of history as one of the largest furniture clusters in Gyeonggi Province.
Over time, accumulated brand trust and shopkeeper networks have anchored the local economy.
The festival has evolved across editions: for example, the 10th edition ran for 18 days from October 3 to 20 to improve accessibility, and a later edition opened in December to match the year-end shopping season.
These timing and operational changes reflect a strategy to respond to seasonal demand and shifting consumer patterns.
Operational details
The festival uses Sangroksu Gym parking, a rear lot behind the furniture street (Bongo-dong 1112-33), and on-street parking in front of shops to ease visitors’ arrival.
In addition, Onnuri gift certificates (local vouchers widely used in Korea) are accepted, which keeps spending circulating within the local economy and helps small business revenues.
Cultural performances and seasonal weekend events expand the festival beyond simple sales into an experiential marketplace.
Another competitive advantage is that shoppers can see department-store and mass-market brand products in person before deciding to buy.
Shoppers value discounts they can feel and the in-person experience.
Arguments in favor
First, the festival increases foot traffic and drives short-term sales spikes.
Meanwhile, it can raise the long-term brand recognition of the street, since residents who buy during the event may return for maintenance or future purchases.
Allowing local vouchers like Onnuri certificates further promotes money to circulate inside the community, supporting small retailers.
Viewed this way, the festival is more than a promotion: it is an investment in the local economic ecosystem.
Second, the event supports entrepreneurship and business development.
Young entrepreneurs and furniture startups gain a direct channel to test products and meet customers.
Additionally, sales and customer feedback gathered during the festival enable shops to refine product lines and pricing.
Third, securing offline touchpoints complements online efforts and can create synergy when retailers combine channels.
A key advantage is improved resilience for the local retail scene.
Arguments against
Heavy reliance on steep, short-term discounts can undermine long-term competitiveness.
From a merchant’s perspective, deep markdowns can rapidly erode profit margins—especially for small and midsize shops that already have tight margins.
Over time, habitual discounting raises consumer price sensitivity and can reduce full-price sales.
Furthermore, if shops fail to develop non-price differentiation, they risk losing ground to large chains and online platforms.
Infrastructure and external costs are another concern.
Parking shortages, traffic congestion, waste management, and noise are social costs that accumulate with repeated festivals.
Public agencies and merchant associations must collaborate to upgrade infrastructure, but deciding who pays for improvements can become contentious.
Finally, an overdependence on annual events may crowd out more sustainable business strategies: if the district’s vitality hinges mainly on a yearly festival, long-term diversification and service upgrades may be neglected.
Counting on discounts alone requires complementary steps to build core competitiveness.
Economic analysis and policy suggestions
Measured economically, the festival generates short-term sales and broader publicity value.
Therefore local government and the merchants’ association should monitor pre- and post-festival sales trends and develop data-driven improvements.
Examples include customer satisfaction surveys, repurchase intention tracking, and analysis of what product categories sell best—each can inform a long-term strategy.
Sharing plans for parking, shuttle services, and traffic control in advance will also improve visitor experience.
Policy measures might include startup support tied to the festival, small-business financing, and marketing training for merchants.
Another recommendation is an integrated online-offline strategy.
Convert festival visitors into online customers, and use online channels to invite new shoppers to the street—this approach keeps the advantage of in-person product trials while addressing competition from e-commerce.
Ultimately, the festival should be a catalyst for transforming the local business model rather than a one-off sales event.
Policy support is essential to secure the festival’s long-term sustainability.
Comparative cases
Successful district festivals share three traits: clear product positioning, visitor convenience and strong experiential elements, and follow-up actions using event data.
By contrast, failed examples often relied solely on price wars or lacked basic infrastructure planning.
Ansan’s furniture street would do well to incorporate these lessons into its festival design.
Conclusion and outlook
The Ansan Sangroksu furniture festival injects immediate energy into the local economy.
However, if the district leans only on discounts and events, sustainability will be limited.
Therefore municipal authorities, merchant groups, and residents should jointly pursue a medium- to long-term plan that pairs infrastructure upgrades with integrated marketing and startup support.
In short, the festival can be a springboard for revitalization—but only if it is managed as part of a broader, systematic strategy rather than as a stand-alone promotion.
When policy backing and merchant initiative combine, the one-off spike in sales can become lasting growth.
How does a local festival shape your shopping choices?
