People Who Forget the Holidays... Part-Time Workers on Duty Even During the Holiday Season

On the 23rd, when the large-scale Lunar New Year holiday travel began, passengers at Seoul Station boarding area were moving towards trains heading to their hometowns. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] Jeon Hyuk-jin (25), a university student, decided not to visit his hometown, Suncheon-si, Jeollanam-do, during this Lunar New Year holiday. Attending university in Seoul and working part-time as an office assistant at a college entrance exam academy, he volunteered to work during the holiday after hearing that the academy would operate normally and offer higher hourly wages. Limited transportation options were also one of the reasons he stayed in Seoul. Jeon said, "Although I feel uncomfortable not seeing my parents, I plan to make time to visit my hometown separately."

It was found that one out of two part-time workers work without taking a break during this Lunar New Year holiday. When job portal JobKorea and part-time job portal Albamon surveyed a total of 3,650 people last month, including 1,986 part-time workers and 1,664 office workers, about their work status during the Lunar New Year holiday, 51.5% of part-time workers answered that they would go to work during the holiday. This is about 17 percentage points higher than the 34.8% of office workers who work during the holiday.

Especially, the proportion of part-time workers working in the service industry was high. Among part-time workers at brand stores, 69.9%, and those working at leisure and convenience facilities, 66.1%, were found to work during the holiday.

Both part-time workers and office workers cited "because companies and stores operate normally during the holiday (73.1%, multiple responses allowed)" as the most common reason for working during the Lunar New Year holiday. This was followed by "unable to find substitute workers, so had no choice (21.0%)" and "assigned to special work or on duty during the holiday period (11.8%)."

There were also responses indicating voluntary support for working during the Lunar New Year holiday. Some answered that they worked during the holiday for reasons such as "preferring to work rather than rest and play (15.8%)", "voluntarily to receive higher wages than usual (9.1%)", and "needing an excuse to avoid returning home or family gatherings (5.0%)."

While 58.1% of part-time workers said they avoid working during the Lunar New Year holiday, 41.7% said they prefer it.

Meanwhile, among workers who work during the Lunar New Year holiday, 60% work without additional allowances. Among part-time workers who said they work during the holiday, 64.2%, and 53.2% of office workers answered that "the usual level of pay is given without separate allowances."

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