SEOUL: As Seoul residents pack their bags for Chuseok, the pets staying behind are creating a holiday rush of their own.
Not every pet can join the family trip, leaving owners to choose among boarding facilities, sitters and neighbours willing to step in.
This year's Chuseok holiday runs from Thursday (Sept 24) through Sunday (Sept 27). Chuseok, one of Korea's biggest traditional holidays, typically prompts a nationwide travel rush as people return to their hometowns for family gatherings and visits to ancestral graves.
For many, pet hotels offer the most straightforward option, providing daytime care and separate rooms for overnight stays.
Some pet hotels in the capital are seeing daily reservations double or even triple as owners secure care before leaving for vacations or visits to their hometowns.
“For the Chuseok period, we have seen around two to three times as many reservations each day,” a staff member at a pet hotel in Yongsan-gu told The Korea Herald Monday (Sept 21).
“Customers usually book around one to two weeks in advance.”
Gangnam-gu is offering some residents a free alternative through its “Chuseok holiday dog care shelter” programme.
Under the programme, up to 50 registered dogs belonging to district residents can stay for as long as five days at six designated animal boarding facilities between Sept 23 and Oct 5.
Mungpa, one of the six participating businesses, said attentive care and safety were its priorities during the busy holiday period.
“We have staff stationed at the center 24 hours a day,” Mungpa CEO Lee Seol-hwa told The Korea Herald Monday.
“We want to ensure that someone can respond immediately to any health or anxiety issues that the pets may experience.”
Mungpa typically receives about 10 overnight hotel bookings, but reservations have risen to around 30 for the Chuseok period, according to Lee. About 20 to 30 dogs also used its daycare service on Monday.
The facility separates dogs by size to reduce the risk of larger animals injuring smaller ones.
Staff monitor the dogs throughout the day, feed them according to their individual schedules and take them on group walks lasting 10 to 15 minutes.
Petdae Sonson, a pet care centre in Seocho-gu that opened in July, said bookings for its hotel service had been limited since its launch.
The approaching Chuseok holiday, however, brought four additional reservations.
For owners who would rather keep their pets in familiar surroundings, online platforms provide another option by sending care givers to the owner’s home.
Wayo, an online pet care platform, offers services in which sitters visit homes to feed and play with pets, clean up after them and provide other requested care.
The company said that accepting reservations during the Chuseok holiday would depend on the schedules of individual sitters and require additional confirmation.
Some owners are also arranging care directly with individuals through neighborhood-based platforms.
Karrot, best known as a secondhand marketplace, carries part-time job listings through which users can seek people to care for their pets.
Such posts began appearing ahead of Chuseok, typically specifying the animal, requested care period, location and proposed payment.
Many also included photographs and descriptions of the pet, along with reviews from previous carers. - The Korea Herald/ANN
