For Chuseok gifts, cash is king: survey

In preparation for the upcoming Chuseok holiday period, the autumnal break when South Koreans visit their parents, grandparents and hometowns bearing gifts, many are choosing the practical and direct option of giving money, according to a recent survey on Wednesday.

A survey conducted by research firm PMI, which polled 3,000 Korean nationals aged 20 to 69 earlier this month, reveals that 53.9 percent of respondents prefer giving monetary gifts, either as cash or gift vouchers, to their family members and friends. This year, Chuseok falls on Sept. 17, with the preceding and following days also officially part of the holiday.

Fruit ranked second, with 25.8 percent of respondents choosing it as a gift, followed by 21.1 percent selecting health supplements. Other popular gift choices included meat (19.3 percent), processed foods (11 percent) and traditional food products (10 percent). The survey allowed for multiple answers.

Regarding gift budgets, 36.1 percent of participants target a price range of 100,000 to 290,000 won ($75 to $217), while 25 percent plan to spend less than 100,000 won. Another 19.6 percent aim for a budget between 300,000 and 490,000 won.

The survey results also found an on-year decline in the number of consumers willing to spend over 1 million won.

Only 3.7 percent of respondents this year intend to spend between 1 million and 1.49 million won, down from 10.4 percent last year. Those planning to spend between 1.5 million and 1.99 million won also dropped to 1.7 percent, compared to the last year’s figure of 6.3 percent.

As for how gifts will be delivered, 52.6 percent of respondents plan to purchase and deliver them in person, 24.3 percent prefer buying online and delivering in person, while 20.5 percent intend to handle both the purchase and delivery of gifts online.