Overwhelming Preference for Cash and Mobile Gift Certificates
Meal Kits for Millennials and Gen Z, Home Cooking for Those in Their 60s
As Chuseok, Korea's largest traditional holiday, approaches, the landscape of gift-giving and food preparation is changing rapidly. Mobile gift certificates and coffee coupons are now outselling traditional fruit and meat gift sets, and purchasing meal kits and ready-to-eat foods has become a common alternative to preparing food from scratch.
According to KT Alpha on October 3, the number of mobile gift certificates sent through "Giftishow Biz," a corporate mobile gift certificate delivery service, during the five business days right before Chuseok increased by 28.4% compared to the previous year. Notably, sales surged by 95% compared to the Lunar New Year earlier this year. The best-selling item was the Starbucks coffee coupon, accounting for 27.7% of the total. This was followed by Naver Pay point coupons (16.7%), Shinsegae and Emart gift certificates (12.5%), and Mega MGC coffee coupons (9.7%).
Mobile gift certificates sent during the five business days just before Chuseok increased by 28.4% compared to the previous year. The best-selling product was the Starbucks coffee coupon.
The increase in mobile gift certificate usage appears to reflect a broader shift toward practicality in holiday gifting. According to a "2025 Chuseok Holiday Perception Survey" conducted by data consulting firm PMI with 1,000 adults nationwide, the most preferred Chuseok gift was cash or gift certificates (49.4%). This was followed by fruit gift sets (23.2%) and health supplements (20.5%), while a notable 21.7% of respondents said they would not give gifts at all.
There were also significant changes in how gifts are delivered. While direct handover remains the most common at 42.8%, bank transfers (22.5%) and mobile coupon delivery (10.9%) are increasing rapidly. The proportion of people giving mobile gift certificates has risen sharply from 7.4% a year ago. The non-face-to-face culture established during the COVID-19 pandemic, along with mobile-centric consumption habits, is now reshaping even holiday traditions.
Holiday Meals with Meal Kits... Millennials & Gen Z Are Changing Chuseok Traditions
On the 1st, ahead of the Chuseok holiday, Mangwon Market in Mapo-gu, Seoul, is bustling with visitors. Photo by Yonhap News
The way people prepare food for the holiday has also changed. Only 34.1% of respondents said they would cook Chuseok meals themselves, while a similar proportion (33.7%) said they would use meal kits or dine out instead. Among people in their 20s and 30s, only one in four planned to cook for the holiday, while over 20% said they would not prepare food at all. In contrast, nearly half of those in their 50s and 60s said they would still buy ingredients and cook themselves, highlighting generational differences in holiday perceptions.
Experts commented on these changes, saying, "Efficiency and practicality have now become more important than traditional forms during the holidays. Gifts are increasingly centered around cash and gift certificates, and food preparation is shifting toward convenience foods."
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