[On the Scene] "Whisky You Can't Buy Even With Money Goes on Sale for 600,000 Won"... 'Thank You' for Overnight Lines and Opening Rush

Liquor Discount Events at E-Mart and Lotte Mart Begin on Nov. 12

Customers Line Up Overnight Since the Previous Evening

Bottle Bunker's Seoul Station Branch Draws Six Times Its Usual Customer Traffic

E-Mart Yongsan Station: "Buying a

"I came here last night at 8 p.m. and waited."

On November 12, a long line had formed outside Bottle Bunker, the liquor specialty store at Lotte Mart Seoul Station, even before it opened. It was the first day of "Black Bunker Day," a major liquor discount event running through November 25, and enthusiasts had flocked there to get their hands on rare whiskies and wines. A male visitor in his 30s said, "I came here last night to buy Wild Turkey Gold Foil and slept here. It goes for around 900,000 won on the market, and it's hard to find, so I lined up early."

Visitors wait to enter Black Bunker Day, a liquor discount event at Bottle Bunker, a liquor specialty store operated by Lotte Mart. Courtesy of Lotte Mart.

Customers poured into Bottle Bunker Seoul Station from the time it opened at 10 a.m., and the number of customers making purchases reached 65 within an hour. That was about six times the roughly 10 customers who typically visit the store on a weekday. Limited quantities of "Wild Turkey Master's Keep Voyage," "The Macallan 12 Year Old 110 Proof" and "Benromach Cask Strength 12 Year Old 2025," among others, sold out as soon as the store opened, snapped up by customers who had lined up before opening. Some customers also stood out for buying more than 10 bottles of wine and carrying them away in boxes. A man in his 40s smiled and said, "I arrived around 7:30 a.m. and was seventh in line, but I managed to buy the last bottle. It was worth getting up early."

According to Lotte Mart, the limited-quantity daily specials sold out quickly on the first day of the event. Popular wines included "Dom Pérignon Damien Hirst Edition," "Sassicaia 2023" and "Cervaro." Demand for whisky centered on "Wild Turkey Master's Keep Voyage," "Suntory Yamazaki 12 Year Old" and "Jack Daniel's 10 Year Old Batch 5." Bottle Bunker's sales that day rose by more than 400% compared with the same day of the previous month and were about five times higher than its sales on a typical day with a general liquor promotion.

Consumers browse products on display at E-Mart's second-half wine market event at its Yongsan Station store. Photo courtesy of E-Mart.

That same morning, customers also flocked to E-Mart's Yongsan Station store before opening for its "Second-Half Wine Market," which runs through November 18. A man in his 40s said, "I heard that 'Château d'Yquem 2016,' the vintage from my son's birth year, would be available at the wine market, so I stopped by on my way to work. I plan to drink it with him on his wedding day."

The Wine Market is E-Mart's signature wine discount event, held twice a year, once in the first half and once in the second half. Although the wine market has contracted in recent years, the event has set record sales every year. E-Mart has attracted consumers feeling the pinch of the weak won by offering steep discounts on wines priced at 100,000 won or more and planning promotional wines in the 10,000-won range. Last year, E-Mart's wine sales rose about 4% from the previous year.

This year's event features around 7,000 products, from popular wines from Italy, France, the United States and other countries to ultra-premium bottles priced at more than 14 million won. E-Mart is selling the Italian wine "Fontodi Flaccianello della Pieve 21," which recorded the highest sales at the Wine Market in the first half of the year, in the 190,000-won range. It is also offering the U.S. wine "Duckhorn Paraduxx" at its lowest price of the year, in the 40,000-won range. Customers paying with eligible event cards can receive discounts of up to 20%. Champagne and sparkling wines, which are in high demand at year-end, are also discounted by up to 50%. From November 14 to 18, the event will also offer customers the chance to choose any two bottles from around 30 popular wines priced between 50,000 and 120,000 won for 99,900 won.

Go Ara, an E-Mart wine buyer, said, "We hope this will be an opportunity for customers to find popular wines they've had their eye on at reasonable prices and discover new tastes in wine."

Promotional posters for E-Mart's "Wine Market" (left) and Lotte Mart Bottle Bunker's "Black Bunker Day." Provided by each company.

Bottle Bunker is also offering discounts of up to 50% on around 2,500 products, including wines, whiskies and related accessories, at three stores nationwide: Jamsil, Seoul Station and Sangmu. In the second week of the event, to mark the 50th anniversary of Duckhorn's founding, Bottle Bunker will sell 600 random boxes, each containing one of five red wines, for 36,900 won each. Bottle Bunker's Jamsil store will also host "Whisky Night," a tasting event featuring more than 40 whiskies and food pairings. VIP members will also have the opportunity to preorder six ultra-premium whiskies through the Bottle Bunker app.

Park Hyejin, a Bottle Bunker team leader, said, "With a range of popular wines and whiskies on special offer each day over the two weeks, customers will be able to enjoy generous discounts throughout the event."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.