Gifts trends for earlier Chuseok holiday in S. Korea
- 5 years ago
1.Time now for our "Life & Info" segment... where we focus on information useful for your everyday life whether you are in Korea or somewhere else in the world.
We have our business correspondent Kim Hyesung in the studio today to discuss this year's trending gift ideas for the upcoming Chuseok Holidays, or Korean Thanksgiving.
Hyesung, Happy early Chuseok to you.
Happy early Chuseok to you, too, Connyoung.
It's wonderful that you bring us this report today as I'm sure many of us will spend this weekend shopping for Chuseok gifts for the family. And, this is when we usually find ourselves stressed to find the best gifts for everyone without it taking a huge toll on our wallets.
Right, Connyoung, before I delve into the products, just some quick background information for our viewers.
Chuseok, Korean thanksgiving day, is one of the biggest holidays in Korea.
It's held on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar with a full moon at night.
Family members from afar gather together in their hometown to share food, spend quality time together and to pay respects to their ancestors.
And usually sons and daughters bring gifts like food to their parents, parents-in-law and grandparents.
According to a survey by job matching website Saramin on 24-hundred workers, respondents plan to spend an average of 3-hundred U.S. dollars on Chuseok gifts this year.
Usually, the top five gifts are Korean beef, cash or gift cards, processed food like canned pork, fruits, and health related goods,... and that list hasn't changed.
But this year's gift trend can be summarize as "summer", "cost-effectiveness" and "premium."
First, summer.
Chuseok holiday falls on September 13th this year, the second week of September, it's the earliest since 2014.
Compared to last year, it's 10 days earlier, and three weeks earlier than in 2017.
Because of the earlier timing, you see a lot more summer fruits for fruit packaged gifts, like peaches and shine muscat grapes, and even melons on top of the usual apples and pears.
Korean beef is also a hot item.
It comes in a price range of between 100 dollars and 1000 dollars at supermarket stores.
At department stores, premium beef priced 3000 dollars saw sales soar.
Pre-orders for Korean beef at supermarkets went up by double digits on-year, as the weather is relatively hot, meaning people prefer refrigerated beef to grill as steak rather than buying frozen beef that is used for soup .
"Sales of refrigerated meat went up to 36 percent in 2014, when Chuseok fell in early September. So we increased the number of refrigerated beef sets by ten percent this year.
"You see more cheaper goods and premium goods and fewer mid-priced goods on offer. Firstly, because the economy is sluggish, so people focus more on value and cost-effectiveness. Secondly, people buy gifts so the recipient can remember the product and the giver and feel a sense of happiness. So even if it's small, people try to buy a special, premium good in that category."
2. I s
We have our business correspondent Kim Hyesung in the studio today to discuss this year's trending gift ideas for the upcoming Chuseok Holidays, or Korean Thanksgiving.
Hyesung, Happy early Chuseok to you.
Happy early Chuseok to you, too, Connyoung.
It's wonderful that you bring us this report today as I'm sure many of us will spend this weekend shopping for Chuseok gifts for the family. And, this is when we usually find ourselves stressed to find the best gifts for everyone without it taking a huge toll on our wallets.
Right, Connyoung, before I delve into the products, just some quick background information for our viewers.
Chuseok, Korean thanksgiving day, is one of the biggest holidays in Korea.
It's held on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar with a full moon at night.
Family members from afar gather together in their hometown to share food, spend quality time together and to pay respects to their ancestors.
And usually sons and daughters bring gifts like food to their parents, parents-in-law and grandparents.
According to a survey by job matching website Saramin on 24-hundred workers, respondents plan to spend an average of 3-hundred U.S. dollars on Chuseok gifts this year.
Usually, the top five gifts are Korean beef, cash or gift cards, processed food like canned pork, fruits, and health related goods,... and that list hasn't changed.
But this year's gift trend can be summarize as "summer", "cost-effectiveness" and "premium."
First, summer.
Chuseok holiday falls on September 13th this year, the second week of September, it's the earliest since 2014.
Compared to last year, it's 10 days earlier, and three weeks earlier than in 2017.
Because of the earlier timing, you see a lot more summer fruits for fruit packaged gifts, like peaches and shine muscat grapes, and even melons on top of the usual apples and pears.
Korean beef is also a hot item.
It comes in a price range of between 100 dollars and 1000 dollars at supermarket stores.
At department stores, premium beef priced 3000 dollars saw sales soar.
Pre-orders for Korean beef at supermarkets went up by double digits on-year, as the weather is relatively hot, meaning people prefer refrigerated beef to grill as steak rather than buying frozen beef that is used for soup .
"Sales of refrigerated meat went up to 36 percent in 2014, when Chuseok fell in early September. So we increased the number of refrigerated beef sets by ten percent this year.
"You see more cheaper goods and premium goods and fewer mid-priced goods on offer. Firstly, because the economy is sluggish, so people focus more on value and cost-effectiveness. Secondly, people buy gifts so the recipient can remember the product and the giver and feel a sense of happiness. So even if it's small, people try to buy a special, premium good in that category."
2. I s