Frugal is the new festive as Koreans rethink Family Month spending

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Frugal is the new festive as Koreans rethink Family Month spending

Published: 06 May. 2025, 09:54 Updated: 06 May. 2025, 15:04

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

An employee prepares carnations for shipment ahead of Family Month in May at a flower farm in Yongin, Gyeonggi, on April 24. [YONHAP]

Flowers bought on a secondhand app and eating in instead of going out — Korean consumers are pulling back on spending during the Family Month of May, a month usually filled with family celebrations and high consumption, as inflation and economic uncertainty push households to save.

Choi, a 39-year-old resident in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, bought a bouquet of carnations on Monday through Danggeun Market, a secondhand marketplace app, ahead of Parents’ Day on Thursday.

The seller had written, “My daughter gave me these flowers even though I told her not to. Please take them for cheap if you need them. With some water, they should last through Parents’ Day.”

“I felt like I was missing something just to give my parents cash,” Choi said. “But flower prices are too high, so I checked my usual secondhand app and got a small flower basket for 10,000 won [$7], about 30 percent of the retail price.”

A listing for carnation sales appears on a secondhand marketplace app. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Country goes for cheap and cheerful holidays

Korea's Family Month, which includes Children’s Day, Parents’ Day and Teachers’ Day, is seeing a shift in how people celebrate. More are opting for used gifts, skipping expensive meals and avoiding traditional spending habits.

In a survey of 1,000 people released on May 1 by the Rural Development Administration, six out of 10 respondents said they would spend about the same as usual this May.

Secondhand platforms are seeing a spike in listings for nearly-new children’s toys such as Lego blocks, dolls and robots ahead of Children’s Day.

Posts about reselling or buying carnations and other Parents’ Day gifts are also on the rise. Popular items include artificial and fresh carnations, carnation-shaped brooches and pens and gift boxes.

“Because Parents’ Day falls right after a long holiday weekend, people have more time to buy or sell fresh flowers before they wilt,” a secondhand platform official said. “As older generations become more comfortable with secondhand apps, we’re seeing more parents reselling flowers or gifts from their children.”

Florists say the usual seasonal bump has failed to materialize.

“Customers are walking away saying flowers are too expensive,” said Kim, a florist at Yangjae Flower Market in southern Seoul. “We started using Chinese carnations, which are about 40 percent cheaper than local ones, to make bouquets and baskets more affordable, but sales are still below expectations.”

While flower sales slow, gold items are gaining popularity as a practical gift alternative.

GS25, a major convenience store chain, began selling gold products such as a 1-gram (0.035-ounce) gold carnation badge and a 3.75-gram carnation gold bar on April 28.

As gold prices continue to hit all-time highs, a gold vending machine at a GS25 convenience store in Seoul displays real-time international gold prices and gold bar product rates on April 9, 2024. [NEWS1]

The 10 items generated 100 million won in sales in one week. A single gold bar costs 758,000 won and can be purchased with a credit card.

“We planned these items to match the trend of customers looking for cost-effective or cash-equivalent gifts,” a GS Retail official said.

The shift toward thriftiness extends to dining, as Statistics Korea reported that the restaurant production index fell 3.4 percent in the first quarter compared to the same period last year, marking the second consecutive annual drop.

The decline was deeper than in 2023 at minus 0.7 percent and 2024 at minus 1.9 percent.

Food spending takes a blow, too

Hotel buffets, once fully booked in May, now have open reservations.

A hotel buffet [JOSUN HOTELS & RESORTS]

Two five-star hotels in Seoul had openings for Parents’ Day dinner and weekend evenings as of Monday.

Secondhand platforms even had listings for dinner vouchers, originally priced at 198,000 won per person, being sold for 160,000 won.

A shabu-shabu restaurant in southern Seoul that offers unlimited meat and vegetables for 58,000 won per adult, in contrast, was fully booked throughout the holiday and through Saturday and Sunday.

“People are cutting back even on essential food spending,” said Chung Youn-sung, a business professor at Dankook University. “The economic downturn and domestic and international uncertainty are leading to more cautious consumption.”

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY CHOI HYUN-JU [[email protected]]