Starbucks Korea is closing stores nationwide for mandatory historical awareness training following backlash over an advertising campaign that evoked South Korea's 1980 military crackdown. According to Al Jazeera, the closures will allow the company to educate staff on this pivotal and traumatic chapter of the nation's history. The move reflects the pressure facing global brands to carefully navigate culturally sensitive historical contexts—particularly in markets where recent traumas remain deeply embedded in national memory.

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