Why do Young Koreans Experience Stress During Chuseok and Other Traditional Holidays?

According to a survey of 1,921 workers by a job-seeking portal Job Korea, 69.2 percent, or almost seven out of 10 working Koreans, said they experience stress during traditional holidays, including Chuseok or the Korean Thanksgiving Day due to their nitpicking family members, according to a report from the Korea Times.

The result of the survey showed that the words the respondents hate to hear the most varied, and depends on the individual's gender and marriage status.

For married men, which accounted for the largest share of 39.8 percent, they considered it most unpleasant when their relatives said, "The economy is quite slow and is your company OK?" 27.3 percent said they hated it when their parents said, "My friend received plentiful pocket money from their children," and 15.1 percent said they did not like questions regarding their annual income the most.

For married women, on the other hand, 36.7 percent cited the most uncomfortable remark as "Let's prepare sufficient food since it's a holiday," while 31.3 percent did not like remarks such as "It's a long holiday, so why don't you stay longer?" This signifies how working women hate to be stereotyped doing household chores during days off, far more so than concerns regarding work and money.

For single people, the most stressful question for them is "When are you getting married?" accumulating 57.7 percent response from single men and 60.3 percent for single women.

Unmarried working men mentioned the most stressful questions such as about their girlfriends (31.8%) and salaries (26.8%). Single women answered they are stressed with questions on their salaries (30%) and looks, which includes their weight (27.3%).

A separate interview by Saramin, another job-seeking portal, 30.4 percent of jobless young Koreans said that they hated it most when their family asks, "So do you have a job now?" The next most hated comment with 12.1 percent was, "A distant relative of yours has reportedly entered a chaebol company."

Sixty-one percent of jobless respondents mentioned that they tried to avoid attending traditional holidays and occasions such as Chuseok because of admonition and interference from their families and relatives.