Chuseok Golden Holiday: Half of Koreans Choose Short-Haul Trips
Japan Cities Sweep Top 3 in Popular Destinations
By taking just one additional day off, Koreans can enjoy up to 10 consecutive days of vacation during the 2025 Chuseok holiday. Most Koreans have chosen short-distance travel destinations within a three-hour flight, such as Japan and Southeast Asia.
Most Koreans chose short-distance travel destinations for the 2025 Chuseok holiday. The photo shows Taipei, Taiwan. Photo by Skyscanner
According to a survey released on the 11th by the global travel platform Skyscanner, 46% of respondents selected short-haul international destinations?such as Japan, Vietnam, and Thailand?for their Chuseok travels this year. The survey was conducted with 1,000 Korean travelers. Skyscanner defined this year’s Chuseok travel trend with the keyword ‘S.O.O.N’ (Short-haul preference, Optional duration, Optimistic budget, New Normalization of holiday travel), explaining the flow of travel during the holiday period.
Chuseok Travel Keywords According to 'S.O.O.N'
The most popular travel destination ranked first is Japan, with the city being Fukuoka. The photo shows Fukuoka, Japan. Photo by Skyscanner
The first is 'S (Short-haul preference)'. According to the survey, about half of the respondents (46%) chose nearby international destinations within a three-hour flight, such as Japan and Southeast Asia.
The second is 'O (Optional duration)'. Although this year’s Chuseok holiday allows for up to 10 days off by using one annual leave day, the actual planned travel period averaged only 3.9 nights. Six out of ten respondents (65%) chose to have sufficient rest after returning from their trip rather than traveling throughout the entire holiday.
The third is 'O (Optimistic budget allocation)'. Sixty percent of all respondents said they were willing to spend an average of 35.9% more on holiday travel during Chuseok.
The last is 'N (New Normalization of holiday travel)'. Seventy-seven percent of respondents said they plan to travel domestically or internationally during the holiday, and the perception of holiday travel as a positive activity has nearly doubled from 37% ten years ago to 70% this year. Traveling during the Chuseok holiday is increasingly becoming a common practice.
Japan Ranks First as the Most Popular Destination, Fukuoka Leads the Trend
The country ranked number one as a popular travel destination was Japan, and the city was Fukuoka. Skyscanner
According to Skyscanner’s flight search data, Japan was the most popular destination country for this year’s Chuseok holiday, accounting for 43.1%. Vietnam (13.2%), China (9.6%), Thailand (7.5%), and Taiwan (6.2%) followed. By city, Fukuoka, Japan, ranked first with 20.2%. In particular, searches for Fukuoka surged by 259% compared to last Chuseok, making it the leading short-haul travel city ahead of Osaka (18.3%) and Tokyo (15.4%). Bangkok (8.9%) and Taipei (8%) followed.
Short-Haul International Trips Without the Burden
Jessica Min, a travel expert at Skyscanner, said, "Six out of the top ten popular destinations for this Chuseok are within a three-hour flight. Fukuoka, which is only 20 minutes from the airport to the city center, is especially popular as an easy, hassle-free destination." She added, "If you haven’t made plans yet, try using the ‘Everywhere’ search feature to find the lowest-priced destinations by date. A golden holiday trip will bring new energy to your daily life."
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