"I Don't Want to Meet Aunties and Uncles" 2030s Avoid Family Gatherings by Going to Work

Millennials in Their 20s and 30s Avoid Family Gatherings by Going to Work
Employees Working During Lunar New Year: "Need an Excuse to Avoid Returning Home or Family Meetings"
Experts: "Strong Influence of Individualism and Avoidance Psychology"

Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ga-yeon] "This Lunar New Year, I'm going to use work as an excuse to avoid going to my relatives' house."

Office worker A (32) said that every time relatives gather, uncomfortable situations arise. A said, "Last year, I booked an overseas trip months in advance and said I had to leave the country, so I didn't visit my relatives' house. This time, I can't travel abroad due to personal reasons, so I decided to go to work instead."

He added, "Of course, working makes me tired, and while others are having fun, I'm working alone, so I feel a sense of deprivation. But still, this is better than being stressed out by relatives for four days straight."

Recently, the number of millennials in their 20s and 30s (born from the early 1980s to early 2000s) who deliberately make excuses to avoid family gatherings during the holiday season has been increasing.

They express fatigue from 'emotional labor' and either plan overseas trips or voluntarily take on extra work or part-time shifts.

Emotional labor refers to suppressing one's own feelings or expressing emotions different from what one actually feels. It is a concept introduced by American sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild in her 1983 book "The Managed Heart."

According to the survey, some respondents who said they would work during the holiday voluntarily took on Lunar New Year shifts.

On the 16th, JobKorea surveyed 3,650 office workers and part-time employees, and more than four out of ten respondents said they would work during the Lunar New Year holiday.

The main reason cited was "because businesses operate normally during the holidays." However, some also answered "it's more tiring to stay at home during the holidays" (5.4%) and "I need an excuse to avoid going home or attending family gatherings" (5.0%).

Photo by Yonhap News

As more people avoid family gatherings, the perception that "everyone should enjoy the holidays individually" has taken root among some.

According to JobKorea, one in two adults prefers to spend Lunar New Year alone, so-called 'Honsuljok' (solo Lunar New Year celebrants). The survey showed that 59.8% of office workers, 61.5% of job seekers, and 54.9% of university students preferred being 'Honsuljok.'

Office worker B (27) said, "This holiday, I'm traveling alone to Taiwan. I actually wanted to rest during the holidays, but I thought I'd be dragged into family gatherings if I stayed home, so I hurriedly bought a plane ticket." He added, "Although I'm traveling alone, I lied to my parents and said I was going with friends because if I told the truth, they would just cancel and say we should go to grandma's house."

Job seeker C (24) said, "I've been tormented by my aunt and uncle since I was young, so just thinking about relatives makes me shudder. Everyone has different life views and values, but no one considers that and just shouts that their own opinion is right. It's a field full of so-called 'kkondae' (authoritarian older people), so who would want to go to family gatherings?"

He continued, "When we go to family gatherings, you can clearly see that everyone doesn't want to be there. Honestly, it's stranger that everyone forces themselves to gather despite disliking it so much. I think everyone would be happier if we just rested at home."

Experts analyze that the spread of individualistic culture and avoidance psychology to evade conflict have influenced the current situation.

Professor Kwak Geum-ju of Seoul National University's Department of Psychology said, "During the Lunar New Year holiday, some deliberately create plausible reasons like 'working a shift' that others can understand," adding, "This can be seen as an influence of individualism that prioritizes oneself."

Professor Kwak further explained, "Modern people are stressed even in daily life, so they think, 'Do I really have to meet relatives and get stressed again?' They try to block these things entirely and eliminate factors that could cause conflict. The avoidance psychology is strong."