Every fall, millions of South Koreans mark Chuseok, one of the country’s biggest family holidays, by gathering with relatives, sharing food and exchanging gifts. Cash has long been part of the tradition, with adult children often giving money to their parents and older relatives handing allowances to younger family members.
That custom is increasingly moving onto smartphones. As digital payments have become embedded in everyday life in South Korea, money that once changed hands in physical envelopes is now also being sent through services such as Kakao Pay, one of the country’s major mobile payment platforms. The shift offers a glimpse of how even deeply rooted family traditions are being absorbed into digital finance.
That matters beyond the holiday itself. South Korea is a highly developed consumer economy with widespread use of mobile payments, making it a useful example of how fintech platforms can move beyond retail purchases and into personal money transfers that were once largely handled in cash. Holiday payments also give platforms another recurring point of contact with users and a clearer view of how household spending changes across generations.
Kakao Pay said the average amount sent to parents during the 2025 Chuseok holiday reached $155, up 38% from $112 in 2021, according to its analysis of transactions made through its digital money transfer envelope service.
The amount generally rose with the age of the sender. People in their 20s sent their parents an average of $138, while those in their 40s transferred about $176.
Money also moved in the opposite direction. Parents sent their children an average of $83 during last year’s holiday, up 16% from 2021.
Among students, middle school students received an average of $52, high school students received $63 and college students received $66. Payments to middle school students increased 37% from 2021, the fastest growth among the student groups tracked by the company.
The increase comes as many households are also reconsidering how much cash is appropriate for the holiday. In a Kakao Pay survey of 23,322 users, 48% said they give their parents the same amount every year, while 30% said they adjust the amount to reflect rising prices. Another 21% said they discuss the amount with siblings or spouses.
The survey does not establish that inflation caused the increase in holiday payments. It does show, however, that rising prices have become part of how many Korean households decide what to give.
Kakao Pay said it compiled the transaction data and survey results to help users think about how much money to give their parents during the holiday. The figures also capture a broader change in Korean consumer behavior as a tradition built around cash envelopes increasingly becomes another digital transaction.
