Starbucks Korea shuts 2,000+ stores for history training after campaign criticism

• Starbucks shuts all South Korea stores for training after “Tank Day” backlash linked to Gwangju massacre.

Starbucks Korea shut all of its more than 2,160 stores nationwide on Monday for mandatory history and social-awareness training, following a public backlash over a controversial marketing campaign that critics said referenced the 1980 Gwangju pro-democracy uprising.

The nationwide closure, carried out at 3 p.m. local time, marks the first time Starbucks stores in South Korea have simultaneously suspended operations since the company entered the market in 1999, according to local media reports including The Chosun Daily.

The move follows weeks of criticism over a May promotional campaign for the company’s “Tank” tumbler series, which was launched under the title “Tank Day” and featured the slogan “Tak! on the desk.” The campaign coincided with the anniversary of the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement, one of South Korea’s most sensitive modern historical events.

Public anger centered on the perceived references to military imagery and violence, with critics linking the branding to the 1980 military crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in Gwangju, as well as the 1987 torture death of student activist Park Jong-chul, according to Korea JoongAng Daily. The backlash quickly escalated into boycott calls, online criticism and political condemnation.

Starbucks Korea withdrew the campaign within hours of its launch and later dismissed its chief executive over the incident, The Chosun Daily reported. The company said all employees would now undergo lectures on modern Korean history and corporate social responsibility, while senior executives, including Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin, will participate in separate training sessions.

Shinsegae Group, which operates Starbucks Korea through its E-Mart affiliate, said the decision reflected the seriousness of the controversy and the need to prevent similar incidents in future marketing.

The training program will include lectures led by university professors on modern Korean history and social sensitivity in corporate communications, covering issues such as history, labor, gender, and human rights.

The company is also introducing stricter marketing review procedures, including a social-sensitivity checklist that will apply to future campaigns. The guidelines will cover commemorative dates, historical events, political and military issues, disasters, violence and hate-related content.

Starbucks Korea, which operates more than 2,000 outlets nationwide, is the country’s largest coffee chain by customer payments, according to data firm Wiseapp.

The controversy comes as Starbucks continues to face boycott campaigns in some global markets linked to the war in Gaza. However, there is no publicly available evidence that its South Korea business has been materially affected by those boycotts.

The Gwangju Uprising, which lasted from May 18 to May 27, 1980, was violently suppressed by military forces under then-General Chun Doo-hwan. South Korean government figures put the death toll at more than 200, while activists and some historians estimate it may exceed 2,000.