Moon Ji-ae and Jeon Jong-hwan said they changed the way they visited both families on the day of Chuseok.
They explained that even without preparing food or washing dishes, the time and space spent together during the holiday itself felt burdensome.
The couple’s choice was not about eliminating visits, but about deciding again when and where to meet.
3-Line Summary
1. Moon Ji-ae and Jeon Jong-hwan adjusted their holiday visits
2. The two mentioned the burden of 6 hours
3. Visiting on the day itself is a choice for each family
The Burden That Remained Even Without Food Preparation or Dishwashing
Moon Ji-ae and Jeon Jong-hwan, both former MBC announcers, introduced the holiday culture they had changed in a video on the YouTube channel ‘생활명품 문지애’ on 9/10. Jeon Jong-hwan said that when he visited his family home in the early years of their marriage, Moon Ji-ae did not take charge of preparing food or washing dishes. Because his parents took the approach of saying, “Just come,” he thought it would not be difficult if there was no labor involved.
However, he said that after 3~4 years had passed, he realized that spending about 6 hours together during the holiday period could itself be the source of the burden. Moon Ji-ae also said that because they did not have children at the time, she felt there was a limit to what they could talk about when spending the entire day together, and they passed the time playing yut and hwatu.
What the two pointed out here was not only the amount of housework. Jeon Jong-hwan explained that the idea that they had to be harmonious and happy in the holiday setting felt like pressure. The couple found a burden that might not be resolved simply by adjusting the division of labor in the length and atmosphere of the time they had to spend together.
Choosing to Meet in Advance Instead of on the Day of Chuseok
The couple said they had not decided not to meet their parents, but not to make a visit on the day of Chuseok fixed. Since they normally see their parents once a week, they explained that they changed to meeting a week before the holiday or during the preceding weekend.
According to a Seoul Shinmun report, the two began with dining out and more recently have also spent the holiday period on 1-night pension trips. Moon Ji-ae said that in a new place, they could be somewhat freer from the roles that naturally arise inside the home. Jeon Jong-hwan also said that seeing his mother prepare food and wash dishes had itself become a mental burden.
The two did not say that this approach was the right answer for every family. Their experience, however, was that once they changed the rule that they “had to visit both families on the day of the holiday,” the burden of having to dutifully display a happy appearance for a long time was reduced. Moon Ji-ae said that through trial and error, it had become their own holiday culture.
What They Decided First Was How to Meet, Rather Than Whether to Visit
What stands out in the couple’s case is not that they gave up on the meaning of the holiday. It is that while maintaining meetings with their parents, they moved the date forward and adjusted the way they related by changing the setting, such as through meals or travel.
It also reveals that, beyond who should do what during the holiday, even how long and in what space they would spend time together could become a subject of discussion. For Moon Ji-ae and Jeon Jong-hwan, 6 hours was not simply time spent staying somewhere, but time during which the pressure to behave as they were supposed to during the holiday accumulated. Therefore, the core of the change they chose was not whether to visit, but setting new conditions under which the family could meet comfortably.
References
Tags #Announcer #MoonJi-ae #JeonJong-hwan #MoonJi-aeJeonJong-hwan #HolidayCulture #ChuseokVisit #HolidayStress #VisitToIn-laws #FamilyCulture #HolidayTravel #HolidayDiningOut #생활명품문지애