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Straits Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
South Korea to have 118 days off in 2026
The longest holiday will be the five-day Lunar New Year set from Feb 14 to 18. PHOTO: AFP South Korea to have 118 days off in 2026 SEOUL - South Koreans will have a total of 118 days off, including weekends and holidays, in 2026, one day fewer than this year, the Korean Aerospace Administration's calendar guideline showed on July 7. The longest holiday will be the five-day Lunar New Year set from Feb 14 to 18. South Korea will see 52 Sundays and 20 additional public holidays, including substitute ones, amounting to 72 days off for employees on a standard five-day work week. But the actual number of days off for holidays would be 70, with the March 1 Independence Movement Day and Buddha's Birthday falling on Sundays. It remains unclear whether substitute holidays will be designated for either day. Public holidays combined with weekends would result in 122 days off. However, with some holidays falling on Saturdays, the number effectively stands at 118. There will be eight holidays that span three days or more. This includes the Lunar New Year and the Chuseok holiday from Sept 24 to 27. There will be five three-day weekends in 2026, including National Foundation Day and Christmas. Details of the calendar guideline can be found on the KASA website ( THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Korea Herald
3 days ago
- Business
- Korea Herald
South Korea to have 118 days off next year
More holidays may be added if substitute days are designated South Koreans will have a total of 118 days off, including weekends and holidays, in 2026, a day fewer compared to this year, the Korean Aerospace Administration's calendar guideline showed Monday. The longest holiday will be the five-day Lunar New Year set from Feb. 14 to 18. Korea will see 52 Sundays and 20 additional public holidays, including substitute ones, amounting to a total of 72 days off work for a regular employee who works five days a week. But the actual number of days off for holidays would be 70, with the March 1 Independence Movement Day and Buddha's Birthday falling on Sundays. It remains unclear whether substitute holidays will be designated for either day. Public holidays combined with weekends would result in 122 days off. However, with some holidays falling on Saturdays, the number effectively stands at 118. There will be eight holidays that span three days or more. This includes Lunar New Year and the Chuseok holidays from Sept. 24 to 27. There will be five cases of three-day 'long' weekends next year, such as National Foundation Day and Christmas. Details of the calendar guideline can be found on the KASA website (
Korea Herald
10-06-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
Digital gifting was convenient — until it started to feel like new social obligation
'Too easy to ignore': Korean Gen Z on the perks and pressures of online gifting culture Twenty-three-year-old Kim begins her day the way many young Koreans do — by checking her phone. As she scrolls through unread messages on the messenger app KakaoTalk, a small gift icon appears next to an old classmate's profile. It's his birthday. Kim hesitates. They haven't spoken in over a year, but she remembers he sent her a delivery food coupon last fall. After a moment of deliberation, she returns the gesture with a Starbucks "gifticon" of equal value. That tiny icon, built into Korea's most-used messaging app, is part of KakaoTalk Gifts, a feature that lets users send anything from coffee coupons to luxury goods. Among the most popular offerings are gifticons — digital vouchers redeemable for specific items like beverages or desserts. This isn't a fringe phenomenon. According to Kakao, the company's prepaid commerce balance, or money preloaded for gift-related purchases, reached 96.6 billion won ($74 million) in the fourth quarter of 2024, a 3.5-fold increase from a year before. Nationwide, e-coupon services, including gifticons, formed a market worth 8.6 trillion won in the same year. With the rise of these services, digital gift-giving has evolved into a kind of social currency, especially for Generation Z, or those born from 1997 to 2012. In a survey of 100 Koreans in their 20s active on social media, conducted by The Korea Herald this year, over 90 percent reported using online gifting platforms. Nearly 97 percent cited convenience as the top reason. Twenty percent said they spend between 30,000 to 50,000 won each month on digital gifts, while another 20 percent spend up to 70,000 won — roughly equivalent to a full day's work on minimum wage. 'It's really just a digital extension of what we already do,' said Kim, 26, who recently graduated from university. 'My family gives and receives envelopes for Seollal, for Chuseok, for weddings, for first birthdays. We've always had a give-and-take culture.' What's changed, she said, is how automated and accessible it's become. 'Kakao will send you reminders. 'Don't forget to celebrate!' Then it shows you a perfectly curated list of gifts. Rice cakes, cake sets, bubble tea … all just a click away.' Trapped by politeness But many also admit that the act no longer feels optional. 'The gift option makes it weird to just congratulate someone's birthday with words,' said Jeon, 25, a bartender in Seoul. 'There's this silent expectation. If you don't send something, it feels like you're being cold — even if you're just not that close anymore.' Jeon shared that she's sometimes felt 'held hostage by politeness,' especially when the recipient is someone she no longer has a meaningful connection with. 'I once got a Baskin-Robbins coupon from a girl I hadn't seen since high school. I appreciated it, but then I felt guilty. Her birthday came two months later, and I ended up sending her something back, even though we hadn't talked in years.' Twenty-nine-year-old Kim, a graduate student juggling classes and part-time work, said the absence of a 'no thanks' button makes it worse. 'You either ghost the message, which feels rude, or accept that you owe them.' Kim added that the emotional toll doesn't end with the gift itself. 'If someone gives me a coupon, I feel like I have to reply, thank them, keep the conversation going ... even if we're not actually close. It's not friendship — it's etiquette.' Park, 25, a user experience design student, described it as a cycle of guilt. 'You want to stop, but then you remember they sent you something last year. I've definitely sent coffee coupons out of guilt.' Some even confessed to 'strategic gifting' — sending small tokens to maintain surface-level connections or avoid awkward silences. 'It's emotional labor,' Park said. 'But instead of doing it in person, we're doing it through vouchers.' Park, 28, recently returned to college after military service and a gap year. As an unpaid intern preparing for graduate school, he finds the economics of gift-giving difficult to justify. 'Most of the gifts my friends wish for are things like convenience store sets, desserts or drink coupons,' he said. 'One item doesn't cost much, but when you have 20 friends ... it adds up.' Park sometimes scrolls through friends' Kakao profiles to check their wish lists, trying to find gifts that look meaningful but cost less. 'It's like tactical generosity,' he said, laughing. 'I want to seem thoughtful, but I'm broke.' He added that digital gifts also create a strange kind of visibility. 'Everyone sees that you didn't send something. You start comparing. Did this friend get more? Did I forget someone?' New rules for digital giving? As gifting continues to digitize, some Gen Z Koreans are beginning to question the expectations surrounding it. A few are starting to set personal rules: no reciprocal gifts, limits on birthday spending or silent 'likes' instead of presents. 'I've started replying with a message instead of a gift,' said Jeon. 'Sometimes I say, 'Let's grab coffee in person next time.' If they're real friends, they'll understand.' Others are trying to step back from gifting altogether. 'I told my close friends: no gifts this year. Let's just meet,' said Kim. 'Honestly, that made us closer.'
Korea Herald
01-04-2025
- Climate
- Korea Herald
2024 recorded as S. Korea's hottest year since 1973
Climate change impacts were 'keenly felt' in 2024: KMA administrator South Korea's nationwide average temperatures reached up to 14.5 degrees Celsius in 2024, making it the warmest year since 1973, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration's annual climate report released Tuesday. According to the KMA's report, Korea saw 103.6 abnormally warm days based on daily low records and 76.7 abnormally warm days based on daily high records. Abnormally warm days, as defined by the KMA, refer to a day when daily low and high temperatures fall within the top 10 percent of historical averages for that time of year. The average summer temperature was 25.6 C, marking summer 2024 the hottest since 1973. Based on average summer temperature records, it was also 1.9 C higher compared to previous years. A high number of tropical nights – referring to overnight temperatures remaining at or above 25 C from 6:01 p.m. to 9 a.m. the following day – were also observed at 20.2 days, which was 3.1 times higher than previous years. Summer also lasted much longer in 2024, with abnormally warm temperatures recorded into September. That month, Korea saw 19.7 abnormally warm days based on daily lows, while 16.9 abnormally warm days were observed based on daily highs. During the Chuseok holiday, or Korea's mid-autumn festival, all parts of Seoul were put under a heat wave warning, the latest warning ever issued in the capital city since the heat warning system was introduced in 2008. Such findings regarding abnormally warm temperatures were not just made by Korea's weather agency. The World Meteorological Organization also commented on its recently published report, 'Significant Weather and Climate Events 2024,' stating, 'South Korea experienced the hottest summer in 2024.' Prolonged high temperatures, triggering heat waves and tropical nights, also caused great damage to crops, as up to 3,477 hectares of farmland and 17,732 hectares of rice paddies were damaged. By region, the most severely affected areas were the North and South Jeolla provinces and South Chungcheong Province, with reported damages of up to 3,098 hectares, 9,261 hectares and 2,979 hectares, respectively. Additionally, up to 3,704 cases of heat-related illnesses were also reported from May 20 to September 30, a 31.4 percent increase compared to the reports made in 2023. Due to high temperatures, the surrounding seas of Korea were also unusually warm. The average sea surface temperature in 2024 reached 17.8 C in Korea, the highest it has been in the past 10 years from 2015 to 2024. Additionally, the number of days that saw abnormally high sea temperatures was recorded at 182.1 days, which was 3.6 times higher than the 10-year average of 50.4 days. Such high sea surface temperatures prolonged into winter, triggering heavy snowfall in November as cold air passed over unusually warm waters of the West Sea. In November 2024, unusually heavy snowfall was observed, particularly focused in the Greater Seoul area and Gangwon Province, with some regions seeing accumulated snowfall of up to 40 centimeters over three days. According to the KMA, the number of heat wave days has generally increased while the number of cold wave days has decreased, observing climate records between 1973 and 2024. With 2024 being Korea's hottest year, KMA Administrator Chang Dong-eon regarded last year as a year when the impacts of 'climate change were keenly felt.' 'The KMA will continue to accurately analyze the scientific causes of climate change and extreme weather patterns to provide timely information to government agencies, industries and the public to safeguard the people's lives and their safety,' Chang continued.
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Sea-Tac Airport gets new direct route to this popular overseas destination
This story was originally published on Alaska Airlines is launching nonstop service between Seattle and Seoul, South Korea this fall, expanding its international footprint in time for one of South Korea's most significant holidays. It's part of a larger strategy to leverage its Hawaiian Airlines partnership to service additional international destinations. The new route from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to Incheon International Airport begins Sept. 12, the airline announced Tuesday. The launch aligns with Chuseok—Korea's harvest festival, often compared to Thanksgiving—which takes place October 6. Seattle to Seoul five days a week Flights in the long-haul, widebody Airbus A330-200 from Seattle to Seoul will operate five days a week, departing Wednesdays through Sundays at 3:25 p.m. and arriving in South Korea at 6:50 p.m. local time the following day. Return flights will leave Incheon at 8:50 p.m. and land at Sea-Tac at 3 p.m., operating Mondays and Thursdays through Sundays. The new service is part of Alaska Airlines' broader international expansion strategy. The company plans to serve at least 12 nonstop international destinations, including Tokyo Narita. Daily flights between Seattle and Tokyo Narita begin on May 12.
