South Korea's Lunar New Year: 27th designated as special holiday, resulting in up to 6 consecutive days off - how are people reacting?

The South Korean government and the ruling party, People Power Party, have announced that the 27th, the start of the Lunar New Year holiday (January 29th this year), will be designated as a special holiday.
The move will create a six-day holiday, aiming to revive domestic demand and stimulate tourism. Kim Sang-hoon, chairman of the policy committee of the ruling People Power Party, who announced the designation of the temporary holiday on the 8th, said, "We expect it to have a positive effect.
However, according to South Korean media, some self-employed people are concerned that the recovery in domestic demand that the government envisions may not be realized.
The Korean Lunar New Year, Seollal, is a festival to celebrate the beginning of the year and is considered one of the two major festivals along with Chuseok (mid-autumn celebration), the festival of the Bon Festival on the lunar calendar. The traditional way to celebrate the Lunar New Year is to gather with relatives and neighbors.
People gather together and exchange greetings called "Sebe (New Year's worship)". One of the things that children look forward to is the New Year's money called "Sebetton" that they receive after the greetings.
During the ceremony, special offerings to the gods and ancestors called "Charesan" are prepared.
As the Lunar New Year approaches, holiday gifts are available at supermarkets, department stores, fruit shops, butcher shops and other privately owned shops. Gifts include fresh foods, processed foods, and everyday items.
The items include daily necessities, health foods, and more, and there are differences in purchasing trends between young people and the elderly. The government announced its "Lunar New Year holiday measures" on the 9th.
In order to make the cost of transportation free and to promote consumption, the government will issue a record 5.5 trillion won (approximately 5.5 billion yen) worth of gift certificates that can be used at traditional markets.
The discount rate for cashless payments and mobile payments will be increased from 10% to 16%. In addition, the "Korea Grand Sale," a shopping and tourism event for foreigners, will be held from the 15th of this month to the 28th of next month.
In South Korea, some people become stressed before the Lunar New Year and mid-autumn celebrations, and after the holidays they experience symptoms such as abnormalities in the spine and joints, dizziness, headaches, stomachaches and palpitations.
These symptoms are called "Holiday syndrome." Some say it is a disease that does not exist anywhere else in the world, but only in Korea.
People become busy with arrangements and procuring offerings for the "Chare" rites to honor their ancestors. Some people also feel an excessive mental burden from interacting with relatives. "Celebration Syndrome" is especially prevalent among women.
It is said that preparations for the festival tend to be concentrated on the women, and there are cases where wives lose patience with their husbands who do nothing, and their relationships deteriorate rapidly, leading to divorce.
Some people are calling for the abolition of these festivals, saying things like, "Is repeating these things really a traditional culture?" In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, people are being urged to refrain from certain activities even during these festivals, and traditional customs are no longer being observed.
People were also forced to change the way they spent traditional holidays. However, some people who had been suffering from "holiday syndrome" during the COVID-19 pandemic expressed relief, saying the change would ease their burden.
As life returns to normal, the government and ruling party have decided to make the 27th a special holiday, hoping for an economic effect from the Lunar New Year holiday.
This will be a six-day holiday until the Lunar New Year holiday from the 28th to the 30th. People have mixed reactions to this decision. "I'm in favor of it because the Lunar New Year holiday is too short at 3 days," "I'd rather have the 31st (Friday) off as well,"
While some people welcomed the change, saying things like, "We should make the holidays longer," others also said, "If the holidays are longer, more people will go on overseas trips, which won't contribute much to domestic demand," and "The government is causing chaos in the economy while
Some have questioned the effectiveness of the measure, saying, "Maybe they're just trying to boost their approval rating by making the holidays temporary." Many self-employed people have expressed concern that domestic consumption may decrease.
South Korea has been in political turmoil since President Yoon Seok-yeol declared "emergency martial law" last month. The National Assembly passed an impeachment motion against Yoon.
The Constitutional Court will now begin a trial to determine whether Yoon's impeachment is appropriate.
Conspiracy theories have also emerged suggesting that the government and ruling party are behind this plot."