Koreans celebrate several holidays where gift giving is traditional. This includes Chuseok, or Korean Thanksgiving, where Koreans prepare gifts for their friends, family or co-workers. Additionally, there is a special holiday called “White Day,” which is celebrated on March 14th. On this day, people give gifts in return for the presents they received on Valentine’s Day.
Furthermore, when you thank someone, come back from a trip, are invited to someone’s house, or even celebrate an anniversary, gift-giving is an important custom! What gifts would you want to receive?
Korea is a society that values social harmony. Gifts are wrapped very beautifully, with ribbons and bows. Even cookies and cakes are individually wrapped! Gifts provide a way for people to maintain social harmony and keep everyone happy. If somebody made a mistake, they often give a small gift to apologize for what they have done so that the peace can be restored.
Because Korea is a hierarchical society, gift-giving also shows respect to people who are older or more experienced. Additionally, there is a concept in Korean culture called jeong, or emotional connection. To establish relationships with new people and maintain existing ones, gifts enable you to show that you care about the people you are close to.
There are many ways that gift-giving is connected to Korea’s environment. When people travel to different cities or regions in Korea, they often bring back a specialty snack or product from that region to share with their loved ones and close connections.
