"Please Stop Talking About That During Holidays"... What Questions Cause Stress?

A survey revealed that the number one topic causing conflicts during family conversations on holidays is related to ‘employment.’ Other topics included college entrance exams, academic performance, and marriage.

On the 23rd, comprehensive education company Eduwill conducted a survey on ‘common conversation topics that cause conflicts among family members during holiday breaks’ ahead of Chuseok. The survey targeted 114 adults aged 20 to 40. The results showed that 42.1% of all respondents answered that employment-related issues such as salary and company size were the main cause.

The second most common topic was college entrance exams or academic performance (15.8%), followed by marriage status and timing (14.9%), and political views (13.2%). Plans for children and childbirth accounted for only 6.1%.

When asked about the reasons why the Chuseok holiday is burdensome, 28.9% of all respondents cited mental stress caused by conflicts between family members and generations.

Time burdens due to travel and visiting relatives followed at 27.2%, and physical labor such as long hours of driving or preparing food ranked third at 22.8%. Fourth place was economic burden due to pocket money at 11.4%.

Regarding plans for the Chuseok holiday, 21.9% responded that they would perform ancestral rites and set up memorial tables, while only 9.6% said they would travel with family.

On the other hand, the highest response was ‘spending time separately’ at 30.7%, and ‘having only one meal together’ ranked high at 28.9%. Despite the long six-day holiday, 59.6% of all respondents answered that they mostly spend time alone.

In a survey conducted by PMi Co., Ltd., an online survey specialist company, targeting 3,000 men and women nationwide aged 20 to 69, 48.8% of respondents answered ‘planning to visit hometown’ during the Chuseok holiday period, while 51.2% answered ‘no plans to visit.’ The 48.8% planning to visit hometown is a 1.8% decrease compared to last year’s Lunar New Year.

An Eduwill official said, “The COVID-19 pandemic over the past three years appears to have significantly accelerated the trend toward nuclear families and individualization.”

He added, “While employment remains the hottest issue, the prevailing atmosphere during the Chuseok holiday is to value personal time more than spending time with family.”

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