Coffee chain to hold ‘ historical awareness ’ training subsequent to backlash against marketing campaign that evoked 1980 military crackdown. Starbucks stores in South Korea will close early next week so employees can receive history instruction after a botched marketing campaign triggered a public backlash, the US coffee chain ’ s local operator has said. Sources close to the matter say additional details are expected to emerge soon.

Background and Context

Tracing the events that led here provides important context for what follows.

The move comes after Starbucks Korea provoked a furore last month with a marketing campaign that evoked one of the predominantly painful chapters in the country ’ s march to democracy.

The coffee giant ’ s use of the wording “ Tank Day ” and “ 5/18 ” to promote a range of coffee tumblers outraged South Koreans by evoking a military crackdown on May 18, 1980, against a pro-democracy uprising in Gwangju.

It has also emerged that starbucks Korea CEO Son Jung-hyun was fired in excess of his role in the PR disaster, which Starbucks ’ s world-wide headquarters said was “ unintentional ” but “ never should have happened ”.

Political Implications

Those with expertise in the area say the timing of this development is particularly notable.

In a statement on Monday, Starbucks Korea operator Shinsegae Group said all outlets nationwide will close at 3pm ( 06:00 GMT) on Monday next week so employees can participate in “ historical awareness and social sensitivity ” training.

Significantly, shinsegae Group said the move will mark the first time that stores have shut early all at once across the country since Starbucks launched in South Korea in 1999.

What has become increasingly clear is that shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin and top executives will separately undergo training on Wednesday, the retail conglomerate said.

What This Means for Americans

The ripple effects of what has occurred are expected to reach well beyond the initial story.

“ The step is intended to take the incident as a lesson and prevent similar cases from recurring across the group in the future, ” Shinsegae Coalition said.

Meanwhile, sources familiar with the matter indicate that the Gwangju Uprising was a major catalyst in the democratisation of South Korea, which held its first free elections in decades in 1987 after a succession of military-led administrations.

In a detail that has not gone unnoticed, led by student protesters opposed to the rule of military strongman Chun Doo-hwan, the democratisation movement was violently crushed when Chun deployed the military to retake control of the southwestern city.

In what observers are describing as a key detail, government figures put the death toll at more than 200 people, but activists and historians have estimated the true figure to be more than 2,000.

Of particular significance is the fact that south Korea is home to more than 2,000 Starbucks outlets, making the country the second biggest overseas market for the Seattle-based chain after China.

What Comes Next

What this development ultimately means remains to be seen. But its significance — both in the immediate term and over the longer horizon — is already being felt by those involved and those watching from the outside.