"This Seol, Planning to Stay 'Jipkok': Return Home Plans Drop and Seol Expenses Halved"

Lunar New Year Holiday "No Plans to Return Home" 63.4%
Estimated Holiday Expenses 540,000 Won → 300,000 Won
Overall Ticket Reservation Rate 33.1%…Last Year 73.2%
Health Authorities Urge "Send Regards in Spirit"

On the 5th, Lunar New Year social distancing banners to prevent the spread of COVID-19 were installed on the streets of Namcheon-dong, Suyeong-gu, Busan. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-eun] "I won't invite anyone during the holidays because the crowds make me anxious," "It's nice to have a chance to rest at home."

As the major ethnic holiday, Seollal, approaches, more citizens are deciding not to return to their hometowns this year. Earlier, the government announced that current COVID-19 prevention measures, including social distancing and bans on private gatherings of five or more people, will be extended for two weeks until the end of the Seollal holiday on the 14th.

According to the job search platform 'Saramin,' a survey conducted on the 26th of last month targeting 1,434 adult men and women about the 'Seollal holiday during the COVID-19 era' found that 63.4% responded that they would not visit their hometowns during the holiday.

This figure is about twice as high as in 2019 before the COVID-19 outbreak and approximately 5.7% higher than last year's Chuseok holiday (57.7%), when the spread of COVID-19 was severe.

The most common reason for giving up hometown visits was "concern about traveling and gathering with relatives due to COVID-19 (65.9%, multiple responses allowed)," followed by "just wanting to rest comfortably (19.9%)," "burdened by expenses (10.8%)," "worried about traffic congestion (5.2%)," and "planning to avoid the holiday rush by traveling at a different time (3.4%)."

Among them, 74% (multiple responses allowed) said they plan to stay at home during the Seollal holiday instead of returning home, engaging in 'home-staying.' Other responses included "leisure and cultural activities (16%)," "family gatherings (12%)," and "meeting friends and acquaintances (10.2%)."

A (58-year-old) person, who has gathered with relatives at their family home every holiday, said, "This time, I told my family not to come," adding, "It's unsettling to have everyone crowded here, and if any unfortunate incident occurs, it would be very difficult to handle." They expressed concern about the spread of COVID-19 through family gatherings during the holiday.

Additionally, office workers' expected expenses for Seollal have decreased to about half compared to last year. A survey conducted by job portals JobKorea and Albamon targeting 899 office workers and 1,609 adults asked about their '2021 Seollal plans.' The average expected expense for this year's Seollal was 307,000 won, down more than 230,000 won from last year's 540,000 won.

In particular, last year's expected Seollal expenses for married office workers reached 803,000 won, but this year, the married group’s expected expenses decreased by 415,000 won to 388,000 won compared to last year.

SR, the operator of SRT, will sell Lunar New Year train tickets this year entirely through non-face-to-face reservations to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The photo shows an information board related to Lunar New Year ticket reservations installed at Suseo Station in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on the first day of reservations, the 26th of last month. Photo by Yonhap News

Seollal holiday train ticket reservation rates have also declined. SRT operator SR announced that from the 26th to the 28th of last month, out of 153,064 seats available for Seollal holiday reservations, 97,982 seats were booked, showing a 64% reservation rate. This was based on selling only window seats due to social distancing, and compared to the total 290,000 seats, the reservation rate was only 33.1%. This is a significant decrease compared to last year's Seollal reservation rate of 75.1% and last year's Chuseok reservation rate of 67.9%.

Office worker B (27) said, "I think my parents will just stay at home, and I don't really plan to visit relatives' houses," adding, "I'm relieved to have the chance to rest at home all day."

B added, "It's not just because I'm worried about COVID-19 that I don't want to go, but also because it's comfortable to just stay home for a change. Even during holiday breaks, I was usually tired from being crowded with relatives, so I plan to stay home and catch up on movies and dramas."

Health authorities emphasized adherence to prevention guidelines during this holiday period. Son Young-rae, head of the Social Strategy Division at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH), said at a briefing on the 7th, "The upcoming week includes a four-day Seollal holiday. It is a particularly important time for COVID-19 prevention," adding, "If we respond poorly to the Seollal holiday and a third wave begins to spread again, we will have to continue painful social distancing measures and vaccination will be difficult to start. This Seollal, please send your regards in your heart and share affection non-face-to-face," urging people to refrain from traveling.

Meanwhile, social distancing and bans on gatherings of five or more people, which will be applied after the Seollal holiday ends on the 14th, are expected to be announced this weekend.

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