October Break In South Korea Fuels Soaring Overseas Travel Demand And Flight Prices, All You Need To Know

Published on August 12, 2025 |

With a imaginable ten-day picnic successful early October connected nan radar, South Koreans are zipping up their suitcases and darting for nan pitchy bridges. That agelong already shines pinch National Foundation Day, nan Chuseok harvest festival, Hangeul Day, and a swap-out vacation connected October 8 and October 9 respectively. This prize Friday would stitch nan longest vacation South Korea and nan recreation apps are buzzing. Japan, Vietnam, Taiwan, and a slew of Southeast Asian hotspots are nan first dots connected nan map, and airports are hitting read-out-loud grounds numbers of tickets sold, while formation prices sprout up faster than nan compartment unit connected a take-off.

The Surge successful Travel Demand

Travel agencies are already reporting a crisp summation successful overseas bookings for nan play from October 3 to 9, pinch immoderate agencies noting a 28.7 percent emergence successful world recreation compared to past year’s Chuseok period. Kyowon Your Travel Easy, a salient section recreation agency, has confirmed nan soaring demand, peculiarly for destinations successful Southeast Asia, specified arsenic Japan and Vietnam. The accrued request is prompting airlines to boost their formation capacities, pinch Jeju Air starring nan complaint by adding 234 further world flights, offering much than 42,000 other seats.

Other carriers, including Jin Air, T’way Air, Eastar Jet, and Air Busan, are besides expanding routes to meet nan heightened recreation demands. This monolithic uptick successful capacity comes arsenic airlines expect record-breaking postulation during nan vacation period, peculiarly pinch world flights bound for Southeast Asia and Japan, regions that proceed to beryllium celebrated pinch South Korean travelers.

Skyrocketing Airfares and Domestic Tourism Boom

With specified soaring demand, formation prices person inevitably spiked. A round-trip formation from Seoul to Da Nang, Vietnam, which typically costs astir 200,000 won (140 USD), now hovers betwixt 600,000 to 1.2 cardinal won (430 USD–860 USD), marking a crisp increase. Flights to far-flung destinations for illustration New York are besides experiencing value surges, pinch nonstop flights now priced astatine astir 3 cardinal won (2,160 USD).

Despite nan emergence successful prices, home tourism is besides emotion nan impact, arsenic visitors flock to celebrated section destinations. Jeju Island, a perennial favourite for some locals and world visitors, is already seeing complete 90 percent occupancy successful its hotels for nan vacation week. Other high-demand areas are besides experiencing akin surges successful bookings.

Incheon International Airport Corp. has already made preparations for a record-breaking postulation travel during nan early October vacation period.

The Economic Debate: Domestic Impact vs. Tourism Growth

While nan recreation surge is undoubtedly a boon for nan tourism sector, questions astir nan semipermanent economical effect are emerging. The authorities has yet to corroborate whether nan Friday, October 10, will beryllium officially added to nan nationalist vacation calendar. However, businesses and policymakers are expressing concerns astir nan economical trade-offs.

In earlier years, erstwhile South Korea granted impermanent holidays, nan effects connected home depletion were mixed. During nan Seollal New Year vacation successful January 2025, erstwhile a six-day break was implemented, outbound recreation numbers surged by 7.3 percent from nan erstwhile year, pinch astir 3 cardinal group heading overseas. However, home in installments paper spending dropped by 34 percent compared to nan week earlier nan holiday, raising questions astir nan economical benefits of specified extended breaks.

This inclination suggests that while outbound tourism sees a clear spike, home businesses, peculiarly mini and mean enterprises (SMEs), could look challenges arsenic accumulation slows down and spending connected section equipment and services declines. The National Assembly Research Service has raised concerns that nan impermanent nationalist holidays whitethorn connection constricted benefits to home demand, peculiarly for industries that trust connected accordant accumulation schedules.

For businesses pinch less than 5 employees, who dress up astir 35 percent of South Korea’s workforce, nan impermanent holidays whitethorn not beryllium mandatory, creating an unequal effect crossed different sectors.

Tourism’s Ripple Effect: Jobs and Local Economy

Beyond nan contiguous financial implications, nan imaginable for a 10-day break raises questions astir nan broader effect connected South Korea’s workforce and schools. Small businesses successful peculiar whitethorn struggle to equilibrium nan demands of an extended vacation pinch their operational needs, while workers successful sectors that don’t observe nan vacation whitethorn beryllium near juggling workloads.

Moreover, acquisition institutions, which often schedule midterm exams aft Chuseok, could look disruptions owed to nan overlap pinch this extended break. A conflict betwixt vacation recreation and world schedules could origin disorder for some students and parents.

Looking Ahead to South Korea’s Long Breaks

Even arsenic experts support debating whether a ten-day vacation successful October would thief nan system aliases situation it, 1 truth stands out: South Koreans want to spot much of nan globe than ever. The recreation industry, meanwhile, is already prepping for what could beryllium nan busiest agelong it’s ever faced. The existent puzzle will beryllium for section shops and cafes, which mightiness struggle nether nan weight of excessively galore days off; precisely really they’ll clasp up is still a mobility mark. At nan extremity of nan day, while nan authorities weighs nan benefits and costs, 1 truth is already settled: much and much South Koreans will beryllium packing their passports.