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Time Spent with Family Tops Achievements, Financial Management Leads Regrets
Cash Preferred as Gifts, Year-End Plans Focus on Resting at Home

In a year-end survey reflecting on the past year, respondents cited "time spent with family" as their best achievement this year, while "financial investment" was chosen as their biggest regret. When it came to year-end gifts, there was a clear preference for cash and gift certificates. Although more people planned for rest or travel, the most common response was that they would actually spend the holidays resting at home.

In a year-end survey reflecting on the past year, respondents cited "time spent with family" as their best achievement this year, and "financial investment" as their biggest regret.

Lotte Members announced on the 16th the results of a survey conducted nationwide through the research platform "Lime" from November 20 to 22, targeting 1,000 adults.

Among respondents, 28% (multiple responses allowed) said that "time spent with family" was their best achievement when looking back on the year. "Regular exercise" followed at 27.2%, and "time spent with friends or acquaintances" was also a major response at 14.1%.

On the other hand, "financial investment" was cited as the biggest regret by 23.7% of respondents (multiple responses allowed). This suggests that regrets about asset management amid uncertain economic conditions were also reflected in year-end evaluations.

The Christmas market at Gwanghwamun Square bustling with citizens welcoming the year-end. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

Cash ranks as the most preferred gift... Year-end plans focus on resting at home

Practicality was a clear trend in year-end gift preferences. The proportion of respondents who wanted to give cash or gift certificates was 35.6%, and those who wanted to receive them reached 41.5%, making both the most popular choices. Excluding cash and gift certificates, the top gifts people wanted to give were health supplements (8.2%), clothing (5.5%), and scarves or gloves (5.1%). The most desired gifts were IT devices (6.7%), jewelry (5%), and clothing (4.5%).

The percentage of respondents who said they had made plans for rest or travel at the end of the year was 43.3%, up 12.9 percentage points from last year. However, when asked about specific plans, the most common response was "resting at home" at 41.3% (multiple responses allowed), followed by domestic travel (39.5%), year-end parties (33%), cultural activities (29.6%), and overseas travel (19.6%).

Jeju is the top domestic travel destination, while Japan is the clear favorite for overseas travel

The crowded scene at Jeju Airport during the recent Chuseok holiday. Photo by Yonhap News

Among planned travel destinations, Jeju was the most preferred domestic location at 32.2%, followed by Gangneung and Sokcho (20.5%), Busan (13.5%), and Daejeon (5.3%). Compared to last year’s survey, when Gangneung and Sokcho, Seoul, and Jeju and Pohang were the top choices, there has been some change in preferences.

For overseas travel, Japan maintained its high popularity at 45.9%, followed by Southeast Asia (28.2%), Europe (7.1%), and the Americas (5.9%). Last year, Southeast Asia narrowly surpassed Japan with 25.6% versus 24.4%, but this year, the preference for Japan has increased significantly.