Moving away from traditional gifts
May is known as 'Family Month' in South Korea, as it has several days to celebrate and show love for those held closest to people's hearts.
One such commemorative day is Parents' Day on May 8. A time- honoured tradition in South Korea has children giving carnations to their parents to express gratitude for their love and care.
However, some Koreans have recently shown a shift in preferences for Parents' Day, as they search for gifts that are more meaningful and worthwhile.
Kwon Young-june, a 53-year-old office worker, is one person who a few years ago made the switch from giving carnations.
'I used to give my parents a bouquet of carnations along with some other gifts like nutritional supplements. But I've noticed that flowers have gotten increasingly expensive nowadays and that they wither quite quickly compared to how much I paid for them,' Kwon said.
'Since a few years back, I realised it would be better for me to spend what I would have spent on a bouquet of flowers on something more memorable and cost- effective, such as a fancy dinner outing with some additional gifts and a money envelope.'
Spoilt for choice: Screencaps showing Parents' Day gifts such as soap flowers, money bouquets and money cakes being sold on Naver. — The Korea Herald/ANN
Kwon added that his parents also seemed to enjoy his change in gifts. This year he treated them to a nice family meal and a short weekend trip to the outskirts of Seoul.
Kwon isn't the only one making the change – a decrease in carnation sales suggests fewer Koreans are buying the flowers to celebrate Parents' Day.
According to Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation's floral distribution data, carnation sales have seen a steady decrease.
While some 80,000 bundles were sold in May 2021, a decrease in sales of about 50% was noted around the same time in 2024, when around 40,000 bundles were sold.
Besides replacing carnations with gifts some would consider more valuable, other Koreans have started to prefer giving cash instead of physical gifts on Parents' Day.
According to a survey conducted by Lotte Members' research platform Lime in 2024, 62.2% of respondents said they planned to give cash gifts. Nutritional supplements came in a distant second at 10.2%, followed by clothing and fashion accessories at 6.5%.
'In Korean culture, there's a deep-rooted expectation for children to support their parents financially, especially in old age.
'In this sense, giving cash is seen not just as a gift but as a form of ongoing responsibility and respect,' sociology professor Koo Jeong-woo from Sungkyunkwan University said.
'Cash is seen as a safe and thoughtful gift in Korea, as it lets parents choose what they truly need and minimises the risk of buying the wrong gift.'
Even when it comes to gifting cash, Koreans have found entertaining ways to present the gift: The money is not handed out in a blank, white envelope but is often given with an element of surprise.
Searching 'Parents' Day Gifts' on search engines like Naver shows results such as 'money boxes', 'money bouquets', 'money sitting mats' and even 'money cakes'.
These products, often disguised to look nothing like what one would consider a cash gift, reveal large amounts of cash when opened.
Jang Yu-jin, a 29-year-old office worker, recalled giving a money box to her grandparents for Parents' Day in 2024. The box, filled with soap flowers, held a commemorative card inside. Pull the card, and along with it comes a seemingly endless roll of cash.
'After I got employed for the first time last year, I wanted to gift something special to my grandparents, who raised me like their own child since I was very little,' Jang said.
'But I wanted to give more than a simple money envelope, so I gave them this money box I found online. I still remember how excited they looked pulling out all that money.'
For those who wish to give cash gifts in an envelope, special envelopes that release confetti when opened have also recently gone viral.
'Korean gift culture is evolving. Younger generations are putting a playful twist on traditional forms of filial duty,' Koo added.
'Nowadays, it's not just about handing over large amounts of cash but rather gifts that show thoughtfulness, effort and humour – and in this case, we can say the presentation of such gifts fulfills that role.'
Though Koreans have found a way to entertain their parents and loved ones with interesting gifts, many say that they still feel stressed when thinking about this commemorative day – not because they don't know what to get, but because they worry that it will be 'too little compared to others'.
Kim Young-seo, 32, said that she gave her mother a mood light filled with preserved flowers for Parents' Day last year, which 'was a huge hit'. But she soon found herself worrying about whether she was doing enough for her parents.
'They did so much for me growing up, and I don't want to make it feel like they're getting any less compared to someone else they know,' said Kim.
Though the mood light went over well last year, this year, Kim resolved to giving her mother a modest amount of cash within her budget. After hearing what her coworkers were doing for Parents' Day, she raised the amount accordingly.
'I felt like I was the only one giving that little to my parents,' Kim added.
'You keep hearing about how much others are spending and it makes it difficult for me to cut back even when my budget is tight.
'While I like celebrating this special day with my parents, I find that it's also one of those days in the year that gives me a significant amount of stress.' — The Korea Herald/ANN
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
6 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Wave of anger could sweep liberals to victory in South Korea election
WHEN then-President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law decree plunged South Korea into chaos, it plummeted sales at Park Myung-Ja's diner in Jechon and became a turning point for many voters in the town. The 66-year-old chef and restaurant owner is one face of South Korea's North Chungcheong Province, a swing region that has become even more pivotal at a time of deep political polarisation in Asia's fourth-largest economy. "We need to get furthest away from all that martial law drama to get things back to where they were," Park said at her Korean restaurant two hours south of Seoul, adding liberal candidate "Lee Jae-myung looks alright for that." Voters are now looking for the winner of the June 3 snap election to calm the economic and political shocks that have roiled the country since Yoon's December 3 martial law decree led to months of economic downturn and sparked nationwide protests. Park's Chungcheong Province is a key battleground for Kim Moon-soo, candidate for the conservative People Power Party campaigning on deregulations for companies, and liberal Democratic Party frontrunner Lee, who's vowing to bring back stability after months of turmoil. In swing regions such as North Chungcheong Province, where Jechon is located, the ruling conservative party risks losing a big chunk of its vote base with many voters blaming the martial law debacle for weaker private consumption and easing export momentum. Park's business crashed after Yoon's declaration with some of her biggest customers who are local council officials cancelling dinner reservations in groups of five to 10. "The first call I got on Dec. 4 was from a regular customer who does his year-end dinner here every year. I asked him why he is cancelling it, and he said – 'don't you watch news?'" Lee, who defied Yoon's martial law decree, had a 10-percentage point lead over Kim in one of the final opinion polls issued on Tuesday with 45 per cent of voters trusting him to revive the economy compared to 32 per cent for Kim. Conservatives have criticised Lee for a series of criminal cases he faces over accusations of election law violations, corruption, and other issues, but they have struggled to unify behind a single candidate and to distance themselves from Yoon. On Friday, right-winger Kim said voting for Lee would end up "collapsing our economy", hoping to sway voters in small cities such as Jecheon, an inland town of about 130,000 surrounded by mountainous tourist spots, who are looking for a turning point to revive South Korea's fortunes. But the martial law call continues to weigh heavily on conservative chances. "We definitely had fewer customers, especially from office dinners, after the martial law declaration. It did bite us hard," said Choi, a Chinese restaurant owner in Pangyo, a town south of Seoul. "Lee is someone who will uplift more of us who are not doing so well." Consumer sentiment, which dropped by the most since the outbreak of Covid-19 in December, recovered to pre-martial-law levels of 101.8 in May, on expectations of a fresh stimulus package under a new leader. The shock move rattled markets and put the won among the region's worst-performing currencies of the last year, hurt business sentiment even before exporters absorbed the full force of US President Donald Trump's punitive tariff policies. Now, the strains are setting in, as economic tailwinds from the semiconductor boom and reforms in the capital markets in the past few years are fading. Whoever wins the June 3 election will face an economy that contracted in the first quarter, manage negotiations with Washington to avoid high tariffs, and assuage voters such as Park who are seeing their living standards go backwards from elevated grocery bills and weak spending. South Korea's election campaign has been light on policy and heavy on spectacle after twists and turns involving the main candidates. "I wish they had taken housing supply and boosting the domestic market more seriously in their pledges," said 59-year-old Jung Soo-hyeon. "But perhaps because it's a snap election, that kind of in-depth consideration seems to be missing — which is a bit disappointing." Analysts say voters watched economic pledges closely as consumption has been badly hit. A win for Lee could spur "faster economic growth in the short term," Kim Jin-wook of Citi Research said. The Democratic Party "would likely be relatively more keen on providing policy and support for the mid-to-low-income bracket," he added. While both top candidates have pledged to draft a second supplementary budget for the year as soon as the election is over, Lee has also promised vouchers to help local businesses and subsidies for childcare, youth, and the elderly. While Lee has backed away from advocating for universal basic income, some voters including Park, who backed Yoon last time, said they see Lee as most likely to look out for their interests. "Lee's party seems to be willing to give out more to those who are struggling," Park said, emphasising that "change" is important.
The Sun
9 hours ago
- The Sun
Wave of anger could sweep liberals to victory in South Korea election
JECHEON: When then-President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law decree plunged South Korea into chaos, it plummeted sales at Park Myung-Ja's diner in Jechon and became a turning point for many voters in the town. The 66-year-old chef and restaurant owner is one face of South Korea's North Chungcheong Province, a swing region that has become even more pivotal at a time of deep political polarisation in Asia's fourth-largest economy. 'We need to get furthest away from all that martial law drama to get things back to where they were,' Park said at her Korean restaurant two hours south of Seoul, adding liberal candidate 'Lee Jae-myung looks alright for that'. Voters are now looking for the winner of the June 3 snap election to calm the economic and political shocks that have roiled the country since Yoon's December 3 martial law decree led to months of economic downturn and sparked nationwide protests. Park's Chungcheong Province is a key battleground for Kim Moon-soo, candidate for the conservative People Power Party campaigning on deregulations for companies, and liberal Democratic Party frontrunner Lee, who's vowing to bring back stability after months of turmoil. In swing regions such as North Chungcheong Province, where Jechon is located, the ruling conservative party risks losing a big chunk of its vote base with many voters blaming the martial law debacle for weaker private consumption and easing export momentum. Park's business crashed after Yoon's declaration with some of her biggest customers who are local council officials cancelling dinner reservations in groups of five to 10. 'The first call I got on Dec. 4 was from a regular customer who does his year-end dinner here every year. I asked him why he is cancelling it, and he said -- 'don't you watch news?'' Lee, who defied Yoon's martial law decree, had a 10-percentage point lead over Kim in one of the final opinion polls issued on Tuesday with 45% of voters trusting him to revive the economy compared to 32% for Kim. Conservatives have criticised Lee for a series of criminal cases he faces over accusations of election law violations, corruption, and other issues, but they have struggled to unify behind a single candidate and to distance themselves from Yoon. On Friday, right-winger Kim said voting for Lee would end up 'collapsing our economy', hoping to sway voters in small cities such as Jecheon, an inland town of about 130,000 surrounded by mountainous tourist spots, who are looking for a turning point to revive South Korea's fortunes. But the martial law call continues to weigh heavily on conservative chances. 'We definitely had fewer customers, especially from office dinners, after the martial law declaration. It did bite us hard,' said Choi, a Chinese restaurant owner in Pangyo, a town south of Seoul. 'Lee is someone who will uplift more of us who are not doing so well.' HEAVY ON SPECTACLE Consumer sentiment, which dropped by the most since the outbreak of COVID-19 in December, recovered to pre-martial-law levels of 101.8 in May, on expectations of a fresh stimulus package under a new leader. The shock move rattled markets and put the won among the region's worst-performing currencies of the last year, hurt business sentiment even before exporters absorbed the full force of U.S. President Donald Trump's punitive tariff policies. Now, the strains are setting in, as economic tailwinds from the semiconductor boom and reforms in the capital markets in the past few years are fading. Whoever wins the June 3 election will face an economy that contracted in the first quarter, manage negotiations with Washington to avoid high tariffs, and assuage voters such as Park who are seeing their living standards go backwards from elevated grocery bills and weak spending. South Korea's election campaign has been light on policy and heavy on spectacle after twists and turns involving the main candidates. 'I wish they had taken housing supply and boosting the domestic market more seriously in their pledges,' said 59-year-old Jung Soo-hyeon. 'But perhaps because it's a snap election, that kind of in-depth consideration seems to be missing — which is a bit disappointing.' Analysts say voters watched economic pledges closely as consumption has been badly hit. A win for Lee could spur 'faster economic growth in the short term,' Kim Jin-wook of Citi Research said. The Democratic Party 'would likely be relatively more keen on providing policy and support for the mid-to-low-income bracket,' he added. While both top candidates have pledged to draft a second supplementary budget for the year as soon as the election is over, Lee has also promised vouchers to help local businesses and subsidies for childcare, youth, and the elderly. While Lee has backed away from advocating for universal basic income, some voters including Park, who backed Yoon last time, said they see Lee as most likely to look out for their interests. 'Lee's party seems to be willing to give out more to those who are struggling,' Park said, emphasizing that 'change' is important. ($1 = 1,376.1000 won) (Additional reporting by Yeonbin Park; Editing by Saad Sayeed)
The Sun
9 hours ago
- The Sun
Liberal anger could fuel South Korea election win
JECHEON: When then-President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law decree plunged South Korea into chaos, it plummeted sales at Park Myung-Ja's diner in Jechon and became a turning point for many voters in the town. The 66-year-old chef and restaurant owner is one face of South Korea's North Chungcheong Province, a swing region that has become even more pivotal at a time of deep political polarisation in Asia's fourth-largest economy. 'We need to get furthest away from all that martial law drama to get things back to where they were,' Park said at her Korean restaurant two hours south of Seoul, adding liberal candidate 'Lee Jae-myung looks alright for that'. Voters are now looking for the winner of the June 3 snap election to calm the economic and political shocks that have roiled the country since Yoon's December 3 martial law decree led to months of economic downturn and sparked nationwide protests. Park's Chungcheong Province is a key battleground for Kim Moon-soo, candidate for the conservative People Power Party campaigning on deregulations for companies, and liberal Democratic Party frontrunner Lee, who's vowing to bring back stability after months of turmoil. In swing regions such as North Chungcheong Province, where Jechon is located, the ruling conservative party risks losing a big chunk of its vote base with many voters blaming the martial law debacle for weaker private consumption and easing export momentum. Park's business crashed after Yoon's declaration with some of her biggest customers who are local council officials cancelling dinner reservations in groups of five to 10. 'The first call I got on Dec. 4 was from a regular customer who does his year-end dinner here every year. I asked him why he is cancelling it, and he said -- 'don't you watch news?'' Lee, who defied Yoon's martial law decree, had a 10-percentage point lead over Kim in one of the final opinion polls issued on Tuesday with 45% of voters trusting him to revive the economy compared to 32% for Kim. Conservatives have criticised Lee for a series of criminal cases he faces over accusations of election law violations, corruption, and other issues, but they have struggled to unify behind a single candidate and to distance themselves from Yoon. On Friday, right-winger Kim said voting for Lee would end up 'collapsing our economy', hoping to sway voters in small cities such as Jecheon, an inland town of about 130,000 surrounded by mountainous tourist spots, who are looking for a turning point to revive South Korea's fortunes. But the martial law call continues to weigh heavily on conservative chances. 'We definitely had fewer customers, especially from office dinners, after the martial law declaration. It did bite us hard,' said Choi, a Chinese restaurant owner in Pangyo, a town south of Seoul. 'Lee is someone who will uplift more of us who are not doing so well.' HEAVY ON SPECTACLE Consumer sentiment, which dropped by the most since the outbreak of COVID-19 in December, recovered to pre-martial-law levels of 101.8 in May, on expectations of a fresh stimulus package under a new leader. The shock move rattled markets and put the won among the region's worst-performing currencies of the last year, hurt business sentiment even before exporters absorbed the full force of U.S. President Donald Trump's punitive tariff policies. Now, the strains are setting in, as economic tailwinds from the semiconductor boom and reforms in the capital markets in the past few years are fading. Whoever wins the June 3 election will face an economy that contracted in the first quarter, manage negotiations with Washington to avoid high tariffs, and assuage voters such as Park who are seeing their living standards go backwards from elevated grocery bills and weak spending. South Korea's election campaign has been light on policy and heavy on spectacle after twists and turns involving the main candidates. 'I wish they had taken housing supply and boosting the domestic market more seriously in their pledges,' said 59-year-old Jung Soo-hyeon. 'But perhaps because it's a snap election, that kind of in-depth consideration seems to be missing — which is a bit disappointing.' Analysts say voters watched economic pledges closely as consumption has been badly hit. A win for Lee could spur 'faster economic growth in the short term,' Kim Jin-wook of Citi Research said. The Democratic Party 'would likely be relatively more keen on providing policy and support for the mid-to-low-income bracket,' he added. While both top candidates have pledged to draft a second supplementary budget for the year as soon as the election is over, Lee has also promised vouchers to help local businesses and subsidies for childcare, youth, and the elderly. While Lee has backed away from advocating for universal basic income, some voters including Park, who backed Yoon last time, said they see Lee as most likely to look out for their interests. 'Lee's party seems to be willing to give out more to those who are struggling,' Park said, emphasizing that 'change' is important. ($1 = 1,376.1000 won) (Additional reporting by Yeonbin Park; Editing by Saad Sayeed)
