Do you hate chores? How about holiday chores? South Koreans certainly hate them. They hate them so much, reports Reuters , that they are using fake arm casts to pretend that they are injured and thus incapable of helping the family prepare holiday meals.
So what holiday are they trying to avoid? These seemingly lazy-beyond-belief South Koreans are trying to avoid helping their families prepare for Chuseok, which is a three-day-long, Thanksgiving-like harvest festival that not surprisingly requires the cooking of a whole lot of grub.
Reuters explains that “women traditionally do most of the work in preparing and cooking elaborate ceremonial dishes, while the men of the family [typically] chat, drink and watch television.” However, Reuters points out that in 2010, 4.9 percent of South Koreans surveyed “said both genders shared holiday chores.” This perhaps explains why both men and women alike are buying these fake casts, though the holiday bias against women still remains strong.
It’s so severe, in fact, that “it has spawned the term ‘daughter-in-law holiday syndrome,’ with many young women suffering post-holiday stress and fatigue.”
Cue Chung-Ang University sociologist Na-Young Lee:
“Although an increasing number of women are actively engaged in economic activities, a perception remains that only women are responsible for holiday preparation. We need to try to understand that both men and women are equal beings in working and raising children in a family.”
Plus, The Korea Herald reveals that out of all the men in the whole wide world, it is “Korean men [who] spend the least amount of time doing housework.” This factoid is based on a survey conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. It should be noted that American men, who often get lambasted for being sexist and whatnot, spend the most time performing regular ol’ household chores. Yay, America!
Where both South Korean men and women are the same is that they are both apparently willing to sometimes try to evade their responsibilities by trying to pull off a ruse. In fact, so many South Koreans are buying these casts that the vendor who sells them is reporting skyrocketing sales . This despite the fact that these casts have been available on the market for 10 years. Unfortunately, sly South Koreans might have trouble getting away with this ruse from here on out, what with all the media attention that it is now receiving.
So what about you. Would you be willing to fake an injury just to avoid doing some cooking on Christmas or Thanksgiving!?
[Image via Google Images ]
