Chuseok Shopping 30% Refund? What to Check Before Combining Receipts

To receive a "maximum 30% refund" during Chuseok shopping, one should not simply multiply the amount spent at the checkout by 0.3. The event announced by Incheon City and Suwon City on September 11 provides 10,000 won or 20,000 won in Onnuri Gift Certificates depending on the purchase amount bracket. The event period is from September 16 to 20. Even when shopping at the same market, the refund calculation varies depending on the items and the specific store.

Spending 50,000 won does not mean a 15,000 won refund

According to the official guide, the refund brackets are 10,000 won for purchases between 34,000 won and less than 67,000 won, and 20,000 won for purchases of 67,000 won or more. If the target purchase amount is 50,000 won, applying this standard results in a 10,000 won refund, not 15,000 won, which would be 30%. This is why one must read the "maximum" expression alongside the actual payment brackets.

The bracket for receiving 20,000 won does not continue indefinitely. The guide for Suwon Fisheries Dong specifies the maximum refund per person as 20,000 won. If one adds unnecessary ingredients just to cross the refund threshold, the total expenditure itself increases. It is better to decide on the items and quantities needed first, and then calculate whether that purchase amount falls into a specific bracket.

This must also be distinguished from the Nonghal Gift Certificate discount introduced by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on September 10. That announcement presented the 20% discount of the Nonghal Gift Certificate and the traditional market Onnuri Gift Certificate refund as separate events. Just because "gift certificate" is in the name does not mean they are the same benefit or that they can be applied redundantly to all payments. One must read the usage conditions for the gift certificates to be purchased and the on-site refund separately.

Fruit and fish receipts are not calculated as one bundle

Incheon City announced that receipts during the event period can be combined, but agricultural/livestock products and fishery products are summed separately. Calculating by adding the payment amounts of both categories together to reach the 67,000 won bracket does not align with this standard. By separating agricultural/livestock products from fishery products when collecting receipts, it becomes easier to determine the amount to be verified at the refund station.

Market names must also be cross-referenced by item category. In Incheon's agricultural/livestock participation list, Sinpo International Market and Songhyeon Market are included, while the fishery product list includes Incheon General Fish Market, Sorae Port Traditional Fish Market, and Sorae Port General Fish Market. It was announced that 13 locations are for agricultural/livestock products and 20 locations are for fishery products. Simply going to a market does not mean all payments made there are eligible for a refund.

If planning to go to Sinpo International Market, one should first check the agricultural/livestock participation guide; if planning to buy fishery products at Sorae Port, one should check the fishery product participation guide. The principles for combining receipts for the two fields and the list of markets can be found via the links at the bottom of the Incheon City notice. One should avoid arbitrary calculations that combine purchase amounts from different markets or different programs.

Imported goods and certain payment methods are excluded

The target for agricultural/livestock products presented by Incheon City is domestic agricultural and livestock products. For fishery products, the targets are domestic or deep-sea fishery products and processed foods where the proportion of these fishery products is 70% or higher. Imported fishery products are excluded. One cannot judge based solely on the location information of having bought something at a fish market; the actual origin of the item and its eligibility for the event must be verified.

In Incheon's fishery product guide, it is noted that fishery products purchased with Zero Pay Fishery Grand Sale mobile gift certificates are also excluded. If other discount methods were used, one must first check if an on-site refund is still possible. The exclusion conditions for this fishery product project should not be interpreted as applying to all agricultural/livestock payments.

The refund is different from a method that automatically discounts the price at the payment stage. Incheon City guides visitors to bring their receipts and visit the refund location within the market. There is also a condition that it may end early if the budget is exhausted. Before purchasing, it is advisable to check whether the store is a participating one, whether the refund station is operating, and what kind of receipts are required.

Suwon Fisheries Dong: 41 out of 54 locations participate

In the Fisheries Dong of the Suwon Agricultural and Marine Products Wholesale Market, 41 out of the total 54 stores are participating in the event. The items handled, as introduced by Suwon City, include frozen seafood, fresh fish, shellfish, live fish, dried seafood, etc. Since participating stores are divided even within the same Fisheries Dong, it is necessary to cross-reference the store list rather than just checking the building name and finishing the purchase.

The Suwon City notice guides that receipts for payments made between 10:00 AM and 6:00 PM on the event day should be brought to the refund event booth to receive gift certificates after identity verification. The list of participating stores is posted on the notice board of the Suwon Agricultural Technology Center website. These times and procedures are the guidance for Suwon Fisheries Dong and are not standards applied identically to all markets in Incheon.

Reference Sources

• 2026 Chuseok Agricultural and Fishery Products Onnuri Gift Certificate Refund Event Guide
• 2026 Chuseok, what to eat? what to do? - All | Card/One Cut | Multimedia | Korea Policy Briefing
• Life/Welfare - News by Field | Suwon City Internet Newspaper

Photo sources and licenses

• Exterior of Sorae Port General Fish Market. Source: LandAndTree / Wikimedia Commons. View original source · CC-BY-4.0
• Passageway and fruit stalls inside Sinpo Market. Source: Mming na / Wikimedia Commons. View original source · CC-BY-SA-4.0
• Entrance to Sinpo International Market. Source: Jjw / Wikimedia Commons. View original source · CC-BY-SA-4.0
• Road and entrance outside Sorae Port General Fish Market. Source: LandAndTree / Wikimedia Commons. View original source · CC-BY-4.0