As if in response to one of the most famous phrases in American history: “The British are coming,” the British indeed have arrived, and apparently in full force in southern Seoul.

Lanky Western-looking men in red British Royal Guard uniforms and those iconic big fluffy bearskin hats were spotted marching up and down the fashionable Apgujeong-dong shopping district on Thursday.

The Royal Guard look-alikes were part of a Beefeater Gin promotional stunt, and the start of a much larger five-day promotional campaign that British Ambassador Scott Wightman helped kicked off to attract South Koreans to visit, study and do business with the United Kingdom at Cafe La Eskimo, on Garosugil in southern Seoul.

The five-day festival, which has been dubbed “The GREAT Britain Festival,” ends Monday, and involves dozens of shops on Garosugil. Known for its trendy boutiques, upscale restaurants, galleries and hipster cafes, the street is part of a district of Seoul made known globally by musician Psy’s equine dance sing-along “Gangnam Style.”

“The British are open to everything, open to all sorts of influences. That is what really stimulates creativity. In some of the video clips that you have seen there are things that Paul Smith and Victoria Beckham were talking about, it is that openness that has made the U.K. a magnet for global talent, and when that talent gets together in places like London, it creates new and exciting and fashionable things. That is what we aim to showcase here on Garosugil this week,” Wightman said.

The five-day festival celebrates British fashion, design and food. Selected shops on Garosugil are offering special discounts and giving away limited-supply products from the U.K. as part of the festival. For more information on the “GREAT Britain Festival” and upcoming events, go to www.facebook.com/ukinrok.

By Philip Iglauer (ephilip2011@heraldcorp.com)