Korean salaried workers suffer from vacation deficit
Kim Deok-sik, Chang Jae-woong
2013.12.27 16:18:56
South Korea is the world’s 15th largest economy in terms of GDP and 8th largest exporter in the world. In terms of economic performance, the country is already an advanced country. However, with respect to reasonable working hours and the use of holidays, the country may still have to be classified as underdeveloped. According to online travel company Expedia, only 70% of Korean salaried workers used their paid leaves, more than 20 percentage points lower than that of European countries like Germany or Ireland where the corresponding ratio is over 90%, and even lower than that of Italy (71%) which is experiencing an economic crisis. The deprivation of rest among Korean salaried workers becomes more pronounced around the time of year end and the New Year. Most Korean workers rest only on Jan. 1 and head back to work on Jan. 2, which makes the New Year day just another single-day holiday. There’s the lunar New Year but because a majority of people travel to their hometowns during the average three-day holiday, they end up spending more time on the road than getting a real rest. In comparison, the culture of taking a long vacation at the year end is established not only in Western regions like Europe and the US but in neighboring countries like Japan and China. Foreign salaried workers use the long holiday to spend quality time with their families, particularly their children. They also wrap up the passing year and plan for the New Year. This is possible because they are given between two to three weeks of vacation around the year end and the New Year.
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