EasyTicket To cut to the chase, SSG.COM’s Chuseok gift set pre-order runs for 42 days, from August 6 to September 16, and paying with a promotional card gets you up to 50% off plus up to 1.2 million won in SSG Money. But there’s one window where the benefits are biggest — the key is finishing your payment within Round 1 (August 6–September 4).
Pre-Order Period and Benefits by Round
This year’s pre-order runs on SSG.COM during the same period as E-Mart, Traders, and emart everyday. Since most E-Mart gift sets can be bought online through SSG.COM, it’s effectively the default option for office workers who don’t have time to visit a store.
I laid out a calendar and counted the rounds again — Round 1 alone is 30 days, while Rounds 2 and 3 combined are only 12 days. The moment you think “I’ll buy closer to Chuseok,” the benefit drops to less than half, which honestly surprised me too.
| Round | Period | Max Shinsegae Gift Certificate | Takeaway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Round 1 | Aug 6–Sep 4 (30 days) | 6 million won | Best benefit window |
| Round 2 | Sep 5–Sep 11 (7 days) | 4 million won | 2 million won less than Round 1 |
| Round 3 | Sep 12–Sep 16 (5 days) | 2.5 million won | Last chance |
The baseline for getting a gift certificate is spending 300,000 won or more in a single payment (source: E-Mart). One or two personal gift sets won’t reach that, but for office workers placing a bulk order for their department or paying for client gifts all at once, finishing within Round 1 makes a real difference.
Chuseok 2026 falls on Friday, September 25, with a four-day holiday from September 24–27. There are only 9 days between the pre-order deadline (9/16) and Chuseok, so once you factor in delivery time, you have less buffer than you’d expect.
How to Get the Up-to-50% Discount — Card Discounts and Shinsegae Points
It’s easy to see the phrase “up to 50% off” and assume it applies automatically, but there are conditions attached.
Pay with a Promotional Card or Earn Shinsegae Points
The discount applies when you pay with a promotional card or earn Shinsegae Points. That means you need at least one of the two in play. The list of cards eligible for the card discount is updated periodically, so it’s safest to check the SSG.COM promotion page right before you pay to confirm your card is still on the list.
Interest-Free Installments and SSG Money
Promotional cards come with 2–3 month interest-free installments, and depending on your payment tier, SSG.COM gives you up to 1.2 million won in SSG Money. Gift certificates (usable offline) and SSG Money (usable online) serve different purposes — if you plan to keep shopping on SSG.COM afterward, SSG Money will get more use out of you.
Check Which Membership Track Benefits You More First
SSG.COM membership splits into two tracks. The Shinsegae Universe Club gives you discounts broadly, from E-Mart to department stores, while the Shinsegae Universe SSG Delivery Club is grocery-focused — it lowers the free-shipping minimum to 14,900 won and gives you three 8%-off coupons and three free-shipping coupons every month. If you’re planning to ship several gift sets separately, the delivery-coupon track works in your favor.
Hanwoo and Fruit Sets: How’s Supply Looking This Year?
The situation varies by item. Fruit sets like apples and pears have seen supply increase by up to 40% over last year. More supply means better odds of finding one even at the last minute, so if you’re pressed for time, fruit is your safety net.
Meat, on the other hand, is better secured early. At E-Mart, the Peacock Hanwoo Galbi Sirloin Set (500g sirloin, 800g hanwoo short ribs, and seasoning sauce) is priced at 110,400 won during the promotion. Hanwoo (Korean beef) sets are the category where the pre-order discount feels most noticeable, so if your budget is around 100,000 won, this is a good place to start.
- Around 100,000 won: Mixed hanwoo sets — a safe default for client or boss gifts
- Around 50,000 won: Fruit sets — ample supply, good for shipping to many recipients
- Value-focused: Practical line-ups of premium fish like tilefish (okdom), hairtail (galchi), and baekgulbi (a premium dried corvina), plus budget-friendly wine and spirits sets
If you have multiple recipients, I’d recommend splitting them into two or three price tiers but completing payment in one go. Gift certificates and SSG Money are based on the payment amount, so splitting your order into separate checkouts only drops you into a lower tier.
SSG Delivery and Shipping Times: How Late Can You Pay?
This is the part office workers miss most often. Pre-ordered items aren’t shipped the moment you pay — they go out on a date you specify — so you need to work backward from your preferred delivery date, not your payment date.
Know Your Delivery Type First
Gift sets fall into two broad types. SSG Delivery (which includes dawn delivery) is mainly for fresh food and has fixed service areas and delivery windows, while shelf-stable gift sets go out through regular parcel delivery. If the recipient’s address is outside Seoul or at an office, check whether it’s within the SSG Delivery service area before you pay.
Working Backward from Chuseok
The pre-order deadline is September 16, and Chuseok itself is September 25 — only 9 days apart, and the week right before the holiday is when parcel volume peaks. If it were me, I’d pay before September 4 (the Round 1 deadline) and set the delivery date for September 21–23. That combination keeps you inside the best benefit window while avoiding the delivery crunch.
- Organize recipient addresses and phone numbers in advance (use a spreadsheet for multiple recipients)
- Check whether it’s an SSG Delivery area or regular parcel delivery
- Set your preferred delivery date to 3–4 days before Chuseok
- For office delivery, make sure it arrives before the holiday starts (9/24)
3 Things Office Workers Should Watch Out For
First, don’t change the order of steps. It goes: check your card → check your membership → cart → payment. If you pay first and only realize afterward that you should have used a promotional card, the discount won’t be applied retroactively.
Second, corporate and group orders have a separate channel. Many people pay with a personal card just to hit the 300,000-won threshold for the gift certificate, then run into reimbursement headaches. If you’re planning to expense this through your company, decide on your payment method first.
Third, September 4 and September 11 are the deadlines that actually matter. If you only remember the final deadline (9/16), you’ll let a 3.5-million-won difference in gift certificates slip by. I’d mark both dates separately on your calendar.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
If I order during Round 1 and cancel later, what happens to the gift certificate?
Gift certificates and SSG Money are awarded based on your payment amount, so canceling or partially canceling an order recalculates the qualifying amount. If you bundle several items to reach the 300,000-won threshold and then cancel part of the order, you could fall below the requirement — so it’s safer to finalize your recipient list before you pay.
Are E-Mart in-store prices the same as SSG.COM prices?
Most E-Mart gift sets are also available on SSG.COM, and the up-to-50%-off discount and promotional card conditions apply the same way — but the type of bonus reward differs. In stores, it’s centered on Shinsegae Gift Certificates; on SSG.COM, it’s centered on SSG Money (up to 1.2 million won). If you plan to keep shopping online, SSG Money works better for you; if you shop offline more, the gift certificate is the better fit.
If I miss the pre-order period, is there no discount at all?
Once pre-orders end, sales move into the regular selling period. However, the gift certificate and discount amounts are designed to be largest during the pre-order window, so even the same product will feel more expensive afterward. For categories with limited stock, like hanwoo (Korean beef) sets, the exact configuration you want may no longer be available once regular sales begin.
Can I send gifts to multiple different addresses?
Yes, gift sets support multiple delivery addresses. That said, the available delivery dates differ depending on the delivery type (SSG Delivery vs. parcel delivery), so check the delivery method on the product detail page before entering your recipient list.
Chuseok gift shopping is the kind of purchase where your options shrink the longer you wait. If you mark just one date — September 4 — on your calendar, you’ll capture nearly everything worth getting from this year’s SSG.COM Chuseok gift set pre-order. Pricing and benefit conditions get updated each round, so just remember to double-check the promotion page right before you pay.