Resume postings by South Korean office workers surge once the Chuseok holiday ends, with job-hunting activity spiking on the first Monday after every major holiday in a pattern repeating year after year.
Resume registrations on the first Monday after a holiday break jumped 49% from the weekday average, according to an analysis of recruitment data from the past two years released by job portal JobKorea on the 21st.
The sharpest increase came after the 2024 Chuseok holiday, when resume registrations on Sept. 23, the first Monday following the break, more than doubled the weekday average for that year. Registrations rose 46% after the 2025 Lunar New Year holiday on Feb. 3, 20% after the 2025 Chuseok holiday on Oct. 13, and 29% after this year's Lunar New Year holiday on Feb. 23.
Job applications followed the same trend. In each of the four most recent holidays, the first Monday after the break drew the highest number of applications among the four weeks surrounding the holiday.
Applications climbed 22% after the 2024 Chuseok holiday, 20% after the 2025 Lunar New Year holiday, 21% after the 2025 Chuseok holiday and 20% after this year's Lunar New Year holiday, extending a pattern of roughly 20% gains at the end of each holiday.
Willingness to change jobs also runs high. In a JobKorea survey of 1,158 office workers, 44.3% said they planned to prepare for a job move during this year's Chuseok holiday. Those in their 30s showed the strongest intent at 63.9%.
Job seekers are expected to become even more active this year as major companies ramp up second-half hiring around the Chuseok holiday.
