The coffee giant will close all stores for half a day so employees can ‘receive education in historical awareness and social sensitivity’
1-MIN READ1-MIN ListenAgence France-PressePublished: 11:59am, 15 Jun 2026Starbucks stores across South Korea will close for half a day next week for staff to attend a history lesson following a promotional campaign gone awry, the coffee giant said on Monday.Starbucks Korea, with more than 2,000 stores nationwide, found itself embroiled in public uproar last month when it ran a “Tank Day” promotion evoking a deadly military crackdown on a 1980 pro-democracy uprising.
The day of the reusable cup promotion – May 18 – coincided with the 46th anniversary of the Gwangju uprising in which 165 civilians were killed, according to the official toll, though many believe the real figure to be much higher.
