This Chuseok, with National Foundation Day and Hangeul Day falling back-to-back, we were able to enjoy a long holiday. What remains after the holiday spent with loved ones is not just the afterglow of rest. The packaging that wrapped the gifts we prepared to express our gratitude has piled up just as high as those heartfelt sentiments. The unnecessary gift packaging problem recurs year after year — is there no solution?
Packaging Waste Delivered Alongside Gifts
Most holiday gift sets are wrapped in multiple layers of wrapping cloth, plastic film, Styrofoam, ice packs, coated boxes, and other packaging materials designed to maintain product freshness and convey a premium feel. The problem is that these packaging materials each fall under different recycling classification criteria, and some materials are simply difficult to recycle at all. Fruit protective padding that looks like Styrofoam must be sorted as plastic film, while foil-decorated or coated paper is classified as general waste.
[Packaging waste separation and disposal guide ⓒ Korea Environment Corporation]
To reduce packaging waste generation and promote recycling, the Ministry of Environment has established product packaging rules under the Act on the Promotion of Saving and Recycling of Resources. These rules prohibit excessive packaging by, for example, limiting food and beverage products to no more than two layers of packaging. However, the regulations do not apply to unit products that repackage already individually packaged items or to products that consumers specifically request to be wrapped in more than two layers, leading to significant controversy over their effectiveness.
In the lead-up to the Chuseok holiday, local governments have conducted inspections of offline stores and cracked down on excessive packaging. These efforts include imposing fines on products that violate packaging standards. However, Chuseok gift sets are also purchased online, and the same excessively packaged products distributed outside the jurisdiction of the inspecting local government cannot be fined, meaning such local government efforts yield only partial results.
Additionally, this year's Chuseok gift sets also face the problem of excessive packaging costs, adding to the burden on consumers. According to the Korea Consumer Agency's "2025 Chuseok Gift Set Sales Price Survey," 36 out of 43 gift sets sold on manufacturers' own online malls were more expensive than purchasing the items individually. While buying in bundles is normally cheaper than buying individual products, the cost of gift packaging and other non-product elements consumed additional expenses. It is a situation that only adds burden to Chuseok, a time meant for sharing the year's bountiful harvest.
Time for Comprehensive Regulatory Refinement and Enforcement
To reduce excessive packaging of agricultural products, which are especially heavily exchanged during holidays, the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service introduced new standards this year. The revised agricultural product standard specifications announced last August include guidelines for eco-friendly packaging. The main points of the guidelines are: ① Packaging design — avoid excessive packaging and composite materials, use single materials that are easy to recycle, minimize the number of ink colors; ② Reduction — prevent redundant use of supplementary materials such as cushioning and fillers, unify and lightweight materials; ③ Reuse — recommend introducing reusable structures such as multi-use containers; ④ Recycling — use materials with high recycling accessibility, include separation and disposal labeling, and recommend the use of biodegradable tape. The amendment has drawn both praise as a necessary revision for sustainable eco-friendly agriculture and concern that the use of expensive eco-friendly packaging materials will drive up product costs.
[Eco-friendly packaging guidelines for agricultural products ⓒ Ministry of Environment]
However, according to a survey conducted by the Korea Consumer Agency this year, 86.7% of consumers are willing to purchase eco-friendly products, and 95% of them responded that they would choose eco-friendly products even if they were more expensive. Consumer awareness of eco-friendly products has already reached a high level. This means that price increases resulting from the introduction of eco-friendly packaging materials are unlikely to lead to a contraction in consumption.
To continue welcoming the cool autumn Chuseok holidays in the years ahead, eco-friendly products must outnumber those that are not. It is time for products and regulations that keep pace with civic consciousness to be actively introduced, so that a concern for the environment can also be included among the gifts we give.
by Editor N