"President's Gift is a Carrot"...How Were Past Presidents' Chuseok Gifts?

Presidential Chuseok Holiday Gift Sets Through History
Roh Started the Practice of Including Regional Specialties to Promote Local Harmony
Yoon Faces Controversy Over Secondhand Transactions and Delivering Cross Paintings to Buddhist Community

During the Chuseok holiday, the gift set prepared by President Yoon Suk-yeol is drawing attention. Past presidents have included regional specialties in their holiday gift sets distributed to various sectors of society to promote the specialty product industry and convey messages of regional unity and harmony. However, as these gifts come from the president, there is often scrutiny over the recipients and contents, sometimes leading to controversy.

President Yoon Suk-yeol plans to present traditional liquor and cosmetic sets to senior figures from various fields who have dedicated themselves to national and social development, uniformed heroes and their bereaved families, socially disadvantaged groups, and those who contributed to securing the Czech nuclear power plant contract, according to the presidential office on the 4th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Message of Regional Harmony through Specialty Products... Gift Prices Lowered after the Kim Young-ran Act

The practice of embedding a 'regional harmony' message in presidential holiday gifts began with the late President Roh Moo-hyun. In his first year in office in 2003, President Roh prepared gifts such as bokbunja wine (Jirisan) and traditional Korean sweets (Hapcheon County, Gyeongnam), with the Blue House explaining it as a "national integration gift combining specialties from Honam and Yeongnam regions." Throughout his term, President Roh maintained the practice of including specialties from various regions in holiday gift sets.

Former Presidents Kim Dae-jung and Kim Young-sam gifted specialties from their respective hometowns. President Kim Dae-jung consistently gave seaweed, traditional sweets, and green tea from Sinan County, Jeonnam, while President Kim Young-sam gifted anchovies from Geoje, Gyeongnam throughout his term. Before the civilian government, gifts were limited to encouragement money (former President Roh Tae-woo) and ginseng (former Presidents Chun Doo-hwan and Park Chung-hee), and only a limited group of politicians and others were on the gift recipient list.

Another hallmark of President Roh was including folk liquors from across the country in the holiday gift sets every year. Except for Chuseok 2006, when traditional teas and tea sets from nine regions nationwide were sent, he gifted traditional liquors such as Hansan Sogokju (Seocheon County, Chungnam) in 2004, Munbaeju (a soju from the Pyongan region) in 2005, and Igangju (Jeonju, Jeonbuk) in 2007, alongside regional specialties. Folk liquors were included in nine out of ten holiday gift sets during his tenure.

Former President Lee Myung-bak also favored agricultural specialties from various regions nationwide. For Chuseok 2008, he sent dried pollack (Inje County, Gangwon), jujubes (Nonsan City, Chungnam), seaweed (Buan County, Jeonbuk), and anchovies (Tongyeong City, Gyeongnam). For Chuseok 2011, when Pyeongchang was selected to host the 2018 Winter Olympics, he included dried pollack strips from Pyeongchang, Gangwon, and anchovies from Sacheon, Gyeongnam, and Yeosu, Jeonnam, symbolizing hopes for a successful Olympic event. In his final year, 2013, the Chuseok gift set included perilla oil (Hoengseong County, Gangwon), new rice (Yeoju, Gyeonggi), shiitake mushrooms (Buyeo County, Chungnam), sesame oil (Yecheon County, Gyeongbuk), and black rice (Jindo County, Jeonnam).

Former President Park Geun-hye favored beef jerky and pine nuts since her time as a member of the National Assembly. For Chuseok in her first year, 2013, she gifted sets of glutinous rice, pine nuts, and beef jerky, and the following year, sets of jujubes, pine nuts, and beef jerky. Subsequent Chuseok gifts included ▲2015 black rice (Jindo County, Jeonnam), glutinous millet (Jeju), new rice (Yeoju City, Gyeonggi) ▲2016 jujubes (Gyeongsan City, Gyeongbuk), new rice (Yeoju City, Gyeonggi), beef jerky (Jangheung County, Jeonnam). For the Buddhist community, considering the doctrine prohibiting killing, walnuts were given instead of beef jerky. After the introduction of the Kim Young-ran Act in 2016, the price of presidential holiday gifts was lowered in accordance with the law's intent.

A gift set delivered by former President Moon Jae-in ahead of the Chuseok holiday in September 2021. The Chuseok gifts consisted of local specialties such as Cheongmyeongju (or honey) from Chungju and Paldo rice, and the gift packaging used eco-friendly materials, the Blue House announced. [Image provided by the Blue House]

Former President Moon Jae-in changed the concept each time. Gifts were given to national veterans, socially disadvantaged groups, and elderly living alone, and at times included researchers involved in the development of the Korean launch vehicle Nuri, participants in foot-and-mouth disease control activities, and medical staff related to COVID-19. For Chuseok in his first year, 2017, he selected new rice (Icheon City, Gyeonggi), pine nuts (Pyeongchang County, Gangwon), sesame seeds (Yecheon County, Gyeongbuk), peeled walnuts (Yeongdong County, Chungbuk), and black rice (Jindo County, Jeonnam) as gifts.

For Chuseok 2018, he chose Omegi liquor (Jeju), buzigaengi (Ulleungdo, Gyeongbuk), anchovies (Wando County, Jeonnam), island bracken (Namhae Island, Gyeongnam), and red shrimp (Ganghwa Island, Incheon). In 2019, the gifts included Sogokju (Seocheon County, Chungnam), seaweed (Gijang County, Busan), peanuts (Gochang County, Jeonbuk), and gondre greens (Jeongseon County, Gangwon). For Chuseok 2020, the set comprised bamboo leaf liquor (Damyang County, Jeonnam), red ginseng jelly (Chungbuk), dried chwinamul (Gangwon), dried shiitake mushrooms (Geoje City, Gyeongnam), and dried bracken (Jeju). For his final Chuseok in September 2021, he sent Cheongmyeongju (Chungju City, Chungbuk) along with rice from all eight provinces.

President Yoon Promotes 'K-Beauty' with Cosmetic Gift Sets for This Year's Chuseok

In his first year in office, President Yoon Suk-yeol distributed gift sets composed of red ginseng jelly (Paju City, Gyeonggi), roasted black soybeans (Wonju City, Gangwon), roasted chestnuts (Gongju City, Chungnam), omija syrup (Jangsu County, Jeonbuk), plum syrup (Suncheon City, Jeonnam), and jujube chips (Gyeongsan City, Gyeongbuk) to 13,000 recipients including elders from various sectors and national heroes. This year's Chuseok gifts included balloon flower medicinal liquor (Jinju City, Gyeongnam), citron medicinal liquor (Geoje City, Gyeongnam), apple chili paste (Boeun County, Chungbuk), pear jam (Ulju County, Ulsan), and onion jam (Muan County, Jeonnam).

Notably, this year a cosmetic set was newly included to showcase the strength of the 'K-Beauty industry.' The set contained plum hand wash, plum blossom hand cream (Damyang County, Jeonnam), green tangerine hand cream (Seogwipo City, Jeju), apple lip balm (Cheongsong County, Gyeongbuk), and cherry lip balm (Gapyeong County, Gyeonggi).

President Yoon Suk-yeol plans to deliver holiday gifts to various figures, including senior citizens who have dedicated themselves to national and social development, uniformed heroes and their bereaved families, socially disadvantaged groups, and those who contributed to securing the Czech nuclear power plant contract, according to the Presidential Office on the 4th. In particular, for the Buddhist community and others, gifts such as omija syrup (Mungyeong, Gyeongbuk), plum syrup (Gwangyang, Jeonnam), pine nuts (Pyeongchang and Hongcheon, Gangwon), apple chili paste (Boeun, Chungbuk), pear jam (Ulju, Ulsan), and cosmetic sets were prepared. 2024.9.4 [Provided by the Presidential Office. Resale and DB prohibited] [Image source=Yonhap News]

Presidential holiday gifts inevitably come with controversy as much as they attract attention. In President Yoon's first year, the recipients of the gifts became a subject of debate. During Chuseok 2022, the Presidential Office stated that gifts were sent to uniformed heroes and their families, socially disadvantaged groups, religious communities, and elders from various sectors. However, some conservative YouTubers, including Kim Se-ui, head of the YouTube channel 'Garosero Research Institute,' revealed they had received gifts, sparking discussions about appropriateness. Kim even opened the Lunar New Year gift he received from President Yoon during a live YouTube broadcast.

The most controversial gift was the one sent by President Yoon for Lunar New Year last year. The gift set included traditional liquor, pine nuts, citron syrup, and beef jerky, but later these gifts were traded on secondhand market sites for 200,000 to 300,000 KRW, causing controversy. A painting included in the gift box was criticized for 'religious bias.' The painting depicted scenes of Sorokdo drawn by Hansen's disease patients at the National Sorokdo Hospital, but it included crosses, rosaries, and churches, which were also delivered to the Buddhist community. Subsequently, the Presidential Office recalled the gifts and resent them.