It found that burns during the Lunar New Year holiday are increasing, such as when oil spills while frying jeon before the holiday. Accidents from being cut by sharp knives while preparing holiday food are also rising, so people should be careful about safety accidents that can occur at home.
On the 13th, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency analyzed injury patients at 23 emergency rooms from 2019 to 2024 and found that an average of 18.5 burn accidents occurred per day during the Lunar New Year. That was up 118% from the usual 8.5 cases. Among them, burn accidents among women averaged 10.6 per day.
Burn accidents surged from an average of 6.7 cases five days before the holiday to 22.3 cases the day before. They remained high at an average of 17.3 cases through the day after Lunar New Year. Typical examples included spilling hot soup on a child's body or grabbing a container wrong while boiling sikhye. There were also cases where hot steam touched the face when opening a pressure cooker.
Accidents of dropping a kitchen knife on the instep also increased. Cutting accidents rose from an average of 36.8 cases seven days before Lunar New Year to 71 cases the day before. While men (55%) usually had more cutting injuries than women (45%), during the holiday women (52%) had more than men (48%).
There were also cases where the airway was blocked while lying down and eating tteok. Airway obstruction during the Lunar New Year averaged 0.9 cases per day. That is 80% higher than the usual 0.5 cases. Among those who visited the emergency room for airway obstruction, 41% were hospitalized. The hospitalization rate was higher than for other accidents such as falls, blunt injuries, and traffic accidents. When the airway is blocked, a person can lose consciousness or, in severe cases, die.
Traffic accident patients also increased as the nation's mass migration took place to visit hometowns. Traffic accidents averaged 98.7 cases two days before Lunar New Year, 30% more than the usual 76.1 cases. The seat belt wearing rate during the holiday was 77.3% for adults and 61.5% for those 12 and under. A Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency official said, "Compared to adults, children have lower levels of protective gear use, so awareness of seat belts and safety seats needs to be raised."