Starbucks Korea Shuts All Stores for History Lesson After Controversial Promotion

Starbucks South Korea will shut all its outlets for three hours next Wednesday and remain closed the following day so that staff can attend a history lesson. The decision comes after a nationwide backlash over a “Tank Day” promotion that evoked the 1980 Gwangju uprising, during which at least 165 civilians were killed by the military.

The campaign was linked to Starbucks’ Tank Series drink tumblers, marketed as “spacious” for large coffees. Promotion materials used the phrase “tak on the table!” in Korean, a word that sounds like a slap – a reference many see as unsettling given the violence of the Gwangju crackdown.

Shinsegae Group, which licenses Starbucks in South Korea, fired its chief executive the day the criticism erupted, and Chairman Chung Yong‑jin will also attend the training module.

“All employees in Starbucks Korea stores will receive education on historical awareness and social sensitivity through video sessions,” the company said. The early closure is the first Nationwide shutdown since Starbucks opened in Korea in 1999.

The Gwangju uprising began on May 18, 1980, when protestors demanded democratic reforms. Military forces, under President Chun Doo‑whan, violently suppressed the uprising, resulting in a massacre that is still remembered as a turning point toward modern South Korea’s democracy. The protest campaign, widely regarded as a criminal act, also involved abductions, sexual assault and mass killings.

During the series of protests last month, a number of tweets and Facebook posts highlighted misplaced or unsensitive marketing choices. The “Tank Day” promotion was tied to an AI‑generated slogan, a result of a marketing team using an artificial intelligence tool for brainstorming. The AI tool produced the phrase that unintentionally echoed language used by police in 1987 when a student activist was killed in custody.

The company apologised, saying it had caused “inconvenience and concern to our customers”. President Lee Jae‑Myung declared the conduct “inhumane and disgraceful” during the backlash.

The incident has sparked a broader conversation about corporate respect for national memory and the potential fallout from appraising historical events in marketing. Experts say that companies with global reach must remain vigilant about context, especially in culturally sensitive regions like South Korea.

Starbucks’ decision to shut all servicing points and to force its staff through a mandatory training might be an attempt to curb the loss of brand reputation and reaffirm its commitment to consumer trust. The closure marks a new approach to crisis management in the coffee industry in the country.