Under 10 Million... 5-Person Limit and 30% Decrease in Lunar New Year Homecoming and Travelers

SK Telecom Big Data Survey Results
9.6 Million Travelers and Returnees During February Lunar New Year Holiday
30.7% Decrease Compared to Last Year's Lunar New Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] It is estimated that the nationwide movement, including returnees and travelers during this year's Lunar New Year holiday period, decreased by more than 30%, falling below 10 million people. This is attributed to the severe cold weather raising concerns about the spread of COVID-19 and the continued restriction order on gatherings of five or more people.

According to SK Telecom's big data survey results on the 19th, the number of travelers and returnees during this year's Lunar New Year holiday (February 8?14) was 9.6 million, a 30.7% decrease compared to the same period last year (13.85 million). This decline is about twice as large as the decrease during last September's Chuseok holiday (-15.5%). SK Telecom estimated the movement patterns of the entire population of South Korea based on the nationwide short- and long-term movement behaviors of approximately 10 million subscribers.

The volume of long-distance travel, including returning home for the holiday, clearly decreased. The travel and return index for this Lunar New Year was 11.7, a sharp 41.5% drop from last year's Lunar New Year (20.0). This index represents the proportion of visitors who traveled long distances to places they do not usually visit, decreasing from 42 out of 100 people to 12 out of 100. Regionally, residents of Jeju Island showed the smallest movement during this Lunar New Year holiday period. It is observed that Jeju residents actively cooperated with quarantine measures, and due to the tourism boom in Jeju, labor shortages likely led to an increase in giving up returning home.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday, the 11th, travelers are moving at Seoul Station to board trains heading to their hometowns. The government has imposed a ban on private gatherings of five or more people from today until the 14th to prevent the domestic resurgence of COVID-19. Even immediate family members cannot gather in groups of five or more if they have different addresses, and fines will be imposed for violations. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

The number of 'homebodies' who refrained entirely from visiting nearby supermarkets or exercising also increased. The outing index for this Lunar New Year was 30.3, a 26.6% decrease compared to last year (41.3). This means that the entire population spent an average of 2 hours and 42 minutes outside during holiday working hours (9 a.m. to 6 p.m.). Last year, people spent 3 hours and 42 minutes outside. Short-distance outing demand decreased by more than 20?30% across most regions, showing a nationwide consistent trend. In particular, residents of Sejong City reduced their outings by 33.3% during this Lunar New Year holiday period, marking a significant decrease.

The rapid change in Lunar New Year holiday scenes compared to Chuseok is presumed to be due to the government's active ban on gatherings of five or more people. Especially in the metropolitan area, where many returnees and travelers are present and numerous confirmed cases are occurring, people appear to have refrained from visiting parents or relatives in their hometowns. The three major mobile carriers provided free video call services on smartphones, and online video streaming service (OTT) providers offered discounted video-on-demand (VOD) services allowing free viewing of dramas and movies.

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