South Koreans Swap Ancestral Rites for Japan Getaways This Lunar New Year

South Koreans swap ancestral rites for Japan getaways this Lunar New Year

Short holidays and a weak yen drive the ‘aeroplane instead of the ancestral table’ trend.

From altars to airports: Koreans flock to Japan for Lunar New Year travel

For many Korean families, traditional holiday gatherings may be getting smaller this Lunar New Year, but suitcases are getting bigger. More than half of flight searches this holiday are for Japan, signaling a sharp shift away from the domestic travel boom that defined the holiday last year. Flight search data from Skyscanner shows Japan accounts for 51.6 percent of all Lunar New Year holiday queries by Korean travelers, with Fukuoka leading at 2…