[Edaily Reporter Lee Min-ha, Kim Tae-seop, Trainee Reporter] As the Chuseok holiday season approaches, sellers of ritual tableware are growing increasingly worried. Analysts say the ritual tableware industry has entered a slump as more households are choosing not to hold ancestral rites or memorial services even during Chuseok.
On the 18th, when E-Daily visited the tableware district of Namdaemun Market in Jung-gu, Seoul, dozens of customers were browsing glass tableware, but there wasn’t a single customer in the shops specializing in wooden ritual sets or low tables. When a customer approached, the shop owner stood up warmly to greet them, but after the customer asked for directions to a store selling plastic lunch boxes, the owner pointed the way and sat back down.
In the past, the tableware section of Namdaemun Market was bustling with customers buying ceremonial tableware. While there were once about 20 thriving stores, only two remain today. Park Dong-gwan (68), who has been selling ceremonial trays at Namdaemun Market for 46 years, said, “It seems sales are only about 30% of what they were last year,” adding, “The week before Chuseok is usually the peak season, but we haven’t even been able to get started yet.” Mr. Park continued, “I’ve been running my business here ever since I was discharged from the military,” and confided, “I know I should close the shop, but since I’m getting older, if I let this go, there’s nothing else I can do.”
The situation is no different for online retailers or manufacturers. Jeong Il-nam, CEO of Namwon Woodware, who has been selling wooden ritual sets on Naver Plus Store for 11 years, explained, “When I first started this business, there were about 100 ritual set factories in Namwon, but now only about 30 remain,” adding, “It doesn’t seem like the ritual set business will carry on to the next generation.”
The worries of ritual set manufacturers are deepening as more elderly people are leaving wills instructing their families not to hold ancestral rites. CEO Jeong said, “There are many cases where people purchase ritual sets in advance before their parents pass away, only to return them after hearing the will instructing them not to hold ancestral rites,” adding, “There are also many who say, even as they buy the sets, that they intend to use them only until their own generation and do not plan to pass them down.”
In fact, the trend of performing ancestral rites during Chuseok is on the decline. According to a survey conducted by Korea Research from the 4th to the 7th among 1,000 adult men and women, only 30% of respondents said they planned to perform ancestral rites this Chuseok. This figure represents a decrease of 5 percentage points (p) compared to last year’s Chuseok (35%) and 14 percentage points (p) compared to Chuseok in 2022 (44%).
As the number of households that do not perform ancestral rites or Chuseok rituals increases, there has been a noticeable trend of people looking to sell their ritual utensils ahead of Chuseok. The number of listings for ritual utensils posted on the secondhand marketplace Karrot during the two-week period from the 7th to the 20th rose by 55.7% compared to last year’s Chuseok.
Ms. Kim (51), who used to perform ancestral rites every holiday, said, “Due to the combined effects of COVID-19 and my parents’ deteriorating health, I haven’t performed ancestral rites for the past five years.” She added, “I think COVID-19 may have actually provided an opportunity for those who wanted to stop performing ancestral rites but lacked a legitimate reason to do so.”
There are also concerns that Korea’s traditional culture may be disrupted. Kim Hak-kyung, director of the Sungkyunkwan Confucian Culture Revitalization Project, explained, “As the culture of ancestral rites shrinks, related industries are shrinking even more severely.” He continued, “It seems we have reached a point where rituals expressing gratitude toward ancestors and our roots are increasingly declining due to perceived formalities and a lack of understanding of traditional culture.” He continued, “Since traditional culture forms the foundation of K-Culture, sustained national and societal interest is essential,” adding, “I hope that even if the formalities are simplified somewhat, we can revive and carry on the fundamental meaning inherent in ancestral rites.”
