Holiday New Customs... "When Eldest Uncle Searches for New Bills, Younger Uncle Clicks for Sebaetdon"

New Year's Money Also Goes Mobile... Convenient 'One-Touch' Holiday Gift Sets
Main Banks' Currency Exchange Counters See Gradual Decline in Holiday New Bill Demand

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] #Park Haneul (45, Cheonho-dong) struggled every year to secure crisp new bills for the Lunar New Year holiday. To give 10,000 won bills to her nephews, she had to hurry early, and finding 50,000 won bills to give to her parents was not easy either. If she was lucky, she could secure many new bills, but they often ran out quickly. Moreover, the bank's currency exchange counters were so busy that it was quite a hassle. This year, while her worries deepened, she received a not-so-subtle hint from a junior colleague at work. "Manager Park, send your New Year's money via mobile. Kids these days prefer that." The unexpected comment opened her eyes wide. Park said, "I think I'll earn the title of a smart uncle this year by meeting my older brother at my parents' house and telling him about 'mobile gifting' since he always struggles to secure new bills," adding with a laugh, "I already sent 'red ginseng' and 'department store gift certificates' via mobile to acquaintances and relatives I wanted to thank early on."

A new trend is emerging for Lunar New Year money gifts and presents. Centered on the millennial generation who seek simplicity and convenience, the trend of sending gifts via mobile for birthdays or anniversaries is spreading, bringing similar changes to holiday gifts. Instead of searching for new bills, people send New Year's money via mobile, and instead of carrying heavy holiday gifts to their hometowns, they send mobile gift certificates that can be redeemed whenever desired.

According to the industry on the 23rd, users of SSG Pay's 'SSG Money Gifting' increased by 32% this year compared to last month. SSG Pay's analysis indicates that more consumers are exchanging New Year's money and holiday gifts through simple payment apps. In September last year, during the Chuseok holiday, users increased by 79% compared to the previous month. The amount of holiday gifts sent via SSG Pay also rose by 45% during the same period, totaling about 5 billion won. SSG Pay expects the number of users and gift amounts to increase after this year's holiday season, similar to last Chuseok. SSG Money is a point system that can be used like cash within SSG Pay. It can be charged via bank accounts, credit cards, or gift certificates.

Major banks also report a noticeable decrease in people seeking new bills compared to previous years. New bills allocated to branches during holidays like Lunar New Year and Chuseok are almost automatically assigned, but the previous limit of 500,000 won per person for exchanging new bills has now been removed. This means the supply of new bills remains similar, but demand has decreased. A representative from a commercial bank said, "Although many people still seek new bills before the holidays, as mobile remittance evolves and mobile gifting becomes a trend, we expect the demand for new bills to gradually decline."

Lotte Department Store Holiday Gift KakaoTalk.

A new trend of exchanging holiday gifts via mobile is also taking shape. Lotte Department Store recently launched exclusive Lunar New Year gift sets for KakaoTalk. The products are characterized by a variety of price ranges and types. Customers can search for Lotte Department Store in the KakaoTalk Gift section, select the desired product, click 'Send Gift,' choose the friend to gift, and complete the payment. The recipient then checks the sent message and enters the delivery address, and the product is shipped within 2 to 5 days. Lotte Department Store plans to diversify its mobile gifting product lineup further during the holidays, anticipating the 'convenience premium' trend (where convenience equals premium) to deepen.

SSG.com is also seeing brisk sales of holiday gifts. Looking at popular holiday gift items over the past two weeks, mixed fruit gift sets of apples and pears ranked first, Korean beef 1+ grade grilling sets ranked third, and Yeonggwang Beopseongpo dried yellow corvina gift sets ranked sixth. Kim Su-hyun (32, Suyu-dong), who sent fruits and dried yellow corvina to her parents and siblings, said, "In the past, I had to go to the department store in person, load the gifts into the car, and drive to my parents' house, which was physically exhausting," emphasizing, "Not having to carry heavy products myself is very attractive."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.