"Your Potatoes Won't Go Anywhere" Gangwon-do Potatoes, Server Crashes Due to Surge of Buyers

"Server Crashed Due to 1 Million Concurrent Connections"

Photo posted on June 11 by Choi Moon-soon, Governor of Gangwon Province, on his Twitter. To support farmers struggling due to the impact of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Gangwon Province launched a special sale of potatoes. Photo by Choi Moon-soon, Governor of Gangwon Province, Twitter capture.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ga-yeon] Gangwon Province has launched a potato sales event to help farmers struggling due to the impact of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), but the sales page server crashed due to the influx of buyers.

On the 11th, Gangwon Province started selling potatoes to consumers nationwide. The price of potatoes was set at 5,000 KRW for 10 kg, with free shipping.

Governor Choi Moon-soon also changed his Twitter name to "Potato-selling Governor" to support the promotion.

In a post on his Twitter that day, Governor Choi said, "We are starting potato sales to support Gangwon potato farmers suffering from the dining slump and reduced school food supplies caused by COVID-19," and urged, "Until Gangwon's premium potatoes are sold out, let's unite to overcome this crisis together."

Within an hour of starting sales, the daily shipment volume of 1,400 boxes was sold out. The sales site, Gangwon Province Genuine Products Center, experienced server crashes due to simultaneous access by buyers.

Governor Choi's secretary posted on Twitter that day, "We are stabilizing the site due to 100,000 simultaneous accesses in one hour," and added, "Thank you to those concerned about farmers' income. The province supports the delivery fee for the satisfaction of both farmers and consumers, so please do not worry and purchase a lot."

On the following day, the 12th, Gangwon Province expanded the site server and resumed sales, but again experienced server crashes due to 1 million simultaneous accesses. Governor Choi's secretary posted on Twitter, "The server crashed again due to 1 million simultaneous accesses," and advised, "There are still plenty of Gangwon potatoes, so please stay calm and access slowly."

He continued, "Your potatoes are not going anywhere. There is really a lot of stock," and explained, "There are 11,000 tons of potatoes waiting for you."