Cautious Koreans Opt For Small Chuseok Gatherings

For a second year in a row, the Chuseok fall festival in South Korea is being overshadowed by the coronavirus pandemic. Both September 2020 and September 2021 saw spikes of coronavirus infections, causing many Koreans to skip the trip home to their families.

In a survey by Jobkorea and Albamon, 48 percent of office workers said they would visit their families nevertheless but make it a small gathering only. Only 13.5 percent said their family would gather in a larger group. 23 percent said they would call their family on the phone instead, while 21.5 percent of respondents said they would avoid going outside altogether.

12.5 percent were still hopeful the COVID-19 situation would improve. On Wednesday, before the public holiday kicks off on Monday, however, South Korea recorded 2079 new coronavirus cases, one of the highest daily counts ever in the country.