With Lunar New Year's Day falling on a Wednesday this year, many companies are taking off all of this week, meaning a possible easing of the usual traffic jams accompanying the holiday.
However, there is another reason to expect less crowded roads. More and more are headed abroad instead of going back to their homes in other regions.
Airplane tickets to major overseas destinations such as Hong Kong and Paris are fully booked, and those for Los Angeles and New York are expected to be sold out in short time, said Korean Air. Asiana Airlines also has fully booked flights for some European cities and its flight today to Los Angeles is filled.
Kang Ha-na, 29-year-old marketing director for a multinational company, is one of those going abroad.
"Luckily I have five-day work week and I could take Monday and Friday off as I just finished my project. I am single, which means I don't have to go visit my in-laws, so I have decided to go to San Francisco," she said.
She will spend a couple of days with her married sister, who lives in San Francisco and then spend some time alone.
Single men and women are freer of family obligations and can hop on the plane if time and money allows, but more married couples and even families have planned trips during the extended holiday period.
"All the family members have gathered and celebrated Lunar New Year's Day but now that both my son and daughter are in their twenties and will get married soon, we thought it would be a rare chance to go on a family trip," said No Sun-ok, a 55-year-old who is planning one for Thailand.
Some families do gather for the Lunar New Year's Day but not at the usual home of the elders. They meet at a destination whether it be a hot spring resort, a ski resort or a country house, to hold a ritual to pay respect to their ancestors there and vacation together afterwards.
Ski resorts in Gangwon Province are reported to be fully booked for the holidays and condominiums along the East Coast have been completely reserved for weeks.
Tomorrow, Won Hye-seon, a 33-year-old who married last year, is going to a family cottage in Gyeonggi Province, where all her in-laws will get together for the holidays. "We get to spend time together and as it is close to Seoul, I can leave earlier and go to my parents' house," she said.
This reflects the fact that as people are having fewer children and not necessarily a son, more daughters have the same rights and responsibilities.
Women used to be denied the pleasure of visiting their parents as they were too busy working in the kitchen for their in-laws. Now, men and in-laws do not think twice about leaving the husband's house to be on their way to the wife's parents.
"My husband and I dated for almost seven years and he is really close to my two sisters, more than his own brother. So he is the one who is in hurry to be with my family," said Won.
Parents are accustomed to have families of their sons come in the morning and leave and wait for those of their daughters in the afternoon.
"We usually leave after a late breakfast and some fruits and coffee so that we can have a late lunch or early dinner at my in-law's. Otherwise, there are too many cars as many are on their way," said Nam Ki-il, a 48-year-old Seoul resident.
Another change is the shift in workload, which used to fall solely on the shoulders of women, causing women to suffer the so-called "holiday syndrome."
Married woman have complained of various symptoms from irritation and headaches to melancholy caused by extra holiday cooking and cleaning and stress.
Doctors and experts advise men to express support, appreciation and affection. Sharing the work during the holiday is the best way of course, but if the household is bound by tradition, giving a massage afterwards would be a good approach, they say..
"My husband's family is so old-fashioned and my husband is the eldest grandson of the main family. His parents and senior relatives cannot even imagine my husband near kitchen. So to avoid family dispute, I don't even expect him to help me during the holidays at his parents' house," said Jang Hee-seung, a 28-year-old graduate student.
Daughters-in-law milling around in the kitchen is likely to be distant memory before long, though. Made-to-order holiday food is offered on various Web sites.
Some families have decided their menu beforehand and each brings a certain kind of food, which may range from practical dishes to traditional holiday foods.
"I personally think it is my duty to prepare food and serve visitors. Nowadays you don't have the time to meet all the family members. New Year's Day and Chuseok are probably the only two occasions," said Kim Young-sun, a 57-year old businesswoman.
But this does not mean that the kitchen is a women-only area. "We make sure that all family members, regardless of gender and age, participate in preparing food," she said.
So she as her eldest daughter-in-law assigns each member with a job: children deliver ingredients and food; men peel the vegetables and shell nuts instead of drinking and playing traditional cards; and the oldest family members sit on the floor and grill fish and meat.
"This way everyone can work together and share the experience. And all the family is involved, talking non-stop. The New Year's Day ritual itself is important in that we pay respect to ancestors, but more important thing is that the family members share the holiday together, happily, isn't it?" she added.
(glamazon@heraldm.com) By Hwang You-mee
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