The Tradition of Returning Home for Chuseok is Fading... 1 in 2 People Say "I Won't Go to My Hometown"

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During Chuseok, the largest traditional holiday in Korea, a golden holiday period lasting six days from the 28th of this month to the 3rd of next month, it was found that one out of every two adults does not plan to visit their hometown.

According to an online survey conducted by PMI, a professional research organization, which surveyed 3,000 men and women nationwide aged 20 to 69, more than half, 51.2%, responded that they do not plan to visit their hometown.

Reporter Jang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

This figure is 1.8 percentage points higher than the 49.4% who said they did not plan to visit their hometown during the Lunar New Year holiday earlier this year.

The percentage of respondents who said they plan to visit their hometown during the Chuseok holiday was 48.8%.

When asked about the date of departure for their hometown, the most common answer was the day before Chuseok, the 28th, at 33.5%, followed by 30.7% who chose Chuseok day itself, the 29th. This was followed by one day before the start of the Chuseok holiday (14.3%) and during the holiday period the day after Chuseok (13.4%).

Additionally, regarding visits to their hometown, 53.8% planned to go with family, 19.0% planned to go with the minimum number of people, 18.3% said it did not matter due to living alone, and 8.8% said they would be going alone only for this Chuseok holiday.

Regarding plans other than visiting their hometown, the largest portion, 33.6%, responded that they "still have no plans." 22.2% said they plan to enjoy games, online video streaming services (OTT), or TV at home. This was followed by "catching up on household chores" at 17.4%, "domestic travel" at 15.4%, "overseas travel" at 10.6%, and others at 0.8%.

PMI analyzed, "Although the Chuseok holiday period has increased compared to previous years, due to the economic downturn and rising prices, rather than making specific plans such as overseas travel, it seems people are staying at home and taking personal rest time."