Possible 10-day fall break fuels travel frenzy
The possibility has sent overseas travel bookings and airfares soaring, even as business groups and policymakers warn that such a move may hurt the economy.
In October, there is already a seven-day holiday from Oct 3, starting with National Foundation Day, followed by the Chuseok holiday from Oct 4 to 7, a substitute holiday on Oct 8 and Hangeul Day on Oct 9.
If Oct 10 is included, the weekend of Oct 11 to 12 would extend the break to 10 days, making it South Korea's longest public holiday since 2017.
According to a travel agency, overseas bookings for Oct 3 to 9 are up 28.7%.
However, there are equity concerns. Businesses with fewer than five employees, which employ about 35% of South Korea's workforce, are not required to grant temporary public holidays.
Schools could also face schedule disruptions, as many plan midterm exams shortly after Chuseok. — The Korea Herald/ANN
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
21 hours ago
- The Star
Train line power outage forces thousands to spend night at Osaka Expo site; disruption caused heatstroke cases
People stranded at the Osaka-Kansai Expo site rest under the Grand Ring wooden structure on Aug 14. - The Japan News/ANN OSAKA: Thousands of visitors to the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo were forced to spend the night at the venue after a power failure disrupted services on the train line offering direct access to the site. Osaka Metro's Chuo Line suspended operations from about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday (Aug 13) until about 5:25 a.m. Thursday due to the electrical system malfunction. According to the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition and other sources, about 30,000 people were stranded at the Expo site and its surrounding areas as of 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, and many stayed overnight. Thirty-six people were taken to hospital after feeling unwell or showing heatstroke symptoms, but all reportedly were mild cases. According to Osaka Metro, the outage occurred on a power transmission rail inside a tunnel between Osakako Station and Cosmosquare Station, which is next to Yumeshima Station — the closest to the Expo site. Operations were suspended for about eight hours. At a press conference Thursday, a senior Osaka Metro official apologized for the incident. 'We caused a great deal of inconvenience to many Expo visitors and other people due to the prolonged suspension of the line's operations,' the official said. The Expo association opened up facilities at the site and also asked pavilion operators to let the stranded visitors stay inside. Forty ambulances had been dispatched to the site as of 8 a.m. Thursday to help people who had felt unwell, according to the Osaka Municipal Fire Department. - The Japan News/ANN
The Star
21 hours ago
- The Star
‘Even the crew didn't know': Confusion as AirAsia flight lands at wrong airport in South Korea
SEOUL: AirAsia is under fire after a flight from Kuala Lumpur International Airport landed at Gimpo International Airport in South Korea instead of its scheduled destination, Incheon Airport, news reports said on Thursday (Aug 14). Originally set to reach Incheon at 7.50pm local time on Aug 13, AirAsia flight D7 506 reportedly touched down at Gimpo, 35km from Incheon, at 8.08pm after circling in the air. According to passengers on the flight, after the captain announced they had arrived at Incheon, people stood up to retrieve their bags from the overhead compartments, but some looked out of the windows and checked their phones to find they were at Gimpo. 'Everyone panicked. It seemed the cabin crew didn't know we had landed at Gimpo until passengers told them,' Lee Mi-hyun, a passenger in her 40s who was returning from a trip to Malaysia with her husband and eight-year-old daughter, told The Korea Herald. 'One crew member even said she needed to call her parents, who were waiting for her at Incheon International Airport.' According to the Korea Airports Corporation, what caused the flight to divert to Gimpo was 'turbulence' over Incheon Airport. The corporation added that the plane refuelled at Gimpo before departing for Incheon about two hours later at 10.17pm. Lee noted that the crew failed to adequately handle the situation during the two hours before departure for Incheon. 'They appeared just as confused as the passengers. No water was offered and there was almost no food left on board, leaving passengers with children upset. Some even said they would rather get off at Gimpo before the plane departed for Incheon,' she said. The captain and crew apologised over the public announcement system as the plane headed to Incheon, where it landed at 10.59pm, said Lee. Some passengers criticised the airline for failing to provide a clear explanation of the situation. 'During the two hours before we departed for Incheon again, there was no clear explanation of what caused the landing error or any effort to reassure passengers,' another passenger surnamed Ryu, 39, told The Korea Herald. AirAsia has not commented on the incident. - The Korea Herald/ANN
The Star
a day ago
- The Star
Vietnam's strategy to revive China durian exports proves successful
Vietnam's durian exports have soared since May due to quality management measures, the expansion of growing area codes, and the removal of technical barriers with China. – VNS/ANN HO CHI MINH CITY: Building a map for durian-growing regions suffering cadmium contamination is a key solution for ensuring food safety and meeting the requirements of foreign markets to sustain exports, according to director of the plant production and protection department, Huynh Tan Dat. Vietnam's durian exports have seen a significant increase since May, with fresh fruit exports jumping tenfold from the first four months of the year. Since May, exports of fresh durian have topped 207,000 tonnes and that of frozen durian, 16,000 tonnes. Cadmium is a heavy metal that can persist for a long time in soil. Recently some batches of Vietnamese durian exports were found by China to have cadmium residues, leading to a disruption in trade and causing losses for farmers and businesses. 'The creation of the cadmium contamination map is not only for strictly managing quality from the source but also helps the durian industry meet new market standards and minimise the risk of technical warnings,' Dat said. It would help the country maintain its position not only in the Chinese market but also expand to other major markets like the US, the EU, Japan and South Korea, he added. The map will be based on samples of soil, irrigation water and fertilisers from major cultivation areas that are analysed in laboratories to identify contaminated regions. The result will be digitised and integrated into the cultivation area management system, which will help farmers and businesses prevent risks. Thailand, a leading durian-exporting country, did this in its key durian-growing provinces, and now only allows exports of fruits that meet safety standards. The plant production and protection department will first survey key durian-growing regions. The focus will be on provinces in the Mekong Delta. Once completed, the map will be expanded and regularly updated. Soil remediation will also be undertaken to reduce the heavy metal content in affected areas by using organic fertilisers, supplementing with lime to increase soil acidity and applying biological products to limit plants' absorption of cadmium. The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment is also focusing on other measures to promote durian exports, including establishing new food safety and cultivation processes and a Circular regulating the issuance and management of growing area codes and packaging facilities. It requires local authorities to monitor chemical use and quality checks at packing facilities and encourage farms to proactively test for cadmium. Export businesses must also test for cadmium and auramine O. The ministry has unveiled plans for regular monitoring from the production to packaging stages, intensifying checks to detect and remove fertilisers with heavy metal residues and penalising the use of unauthorised post-harvest chemicals to minimise violations. It requires laboratories approved by the General Administration of Customs of China to expand testing of export goods for excessive cadmium levels. The Chinese agency has approved 19 laboratories for testing for cadmium and 11 for auramine O. The ministry has provided training and resources, including handbooks and videos, to help local officials and farmers meet VietGAP, GlobalGAP and Chinese quality standards. - Vietnam News/ANN
