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Lunar New Year brings doubling of burn, choking patients and car accidents

Published: 13 Feb. 2026, 19:01 Updated: 13 Feb. 2026, 19:08

Rice cakes displayed at a stall at a traditional market in Mapo District, western Seoul, on Feb. 11, ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday [NEWS1]

The holidays mean food for the festivities — but it also means injuries and sudden visits to the ER.

With families cooking and eating more holiday food over the Seollal Lunar New Year break, the number of patients treated for airway obstruction from choking and burns nearly doubles compared with ordinary periods, along with car accidents while traveling nationwide, according to latest government data.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency released the findings on Friday based on its 2019 to 2024 Emergency Department Injury In-depth Surveillance, which analyzed emergency room patients at 23 participating hospitals. Over the past six years, choking incidents during the Lunar New Year holidays averaged 0.9 cases per day, compared with 0.5 on ordinary days, or 1.8 times higher.

Food accounted for 87.5 percent of objects linked to choking during the holiday period, a higher share than usual and a reminder to use extra caution while eating holiday dishes.

By age group, the risk was most pronounced among those ages 70 and older, at 68.8 percent, followed by children ages 0 to 9 at 18.8 percent. To prevent choking, the agency advised cutting food into small pieces and eating slowly, while taking extra care with chewy foods such as tteok (rice cake) and meat.

A woman prepares tteok (rice cake) which is used for tteokguk (rice cake soup), a Seollal dish, at a local market in western Seoul on Feb. 11. [NEWS1]

Because household cooking increases during the holidays, burns and cuts also rise. Burns during the Lunar New Year break averaged 18.5 cases per day, up 2.2 times from the usual 8.5. The share of female patients rose notably.

Home was the most common location for burns, accounting for 80.2 percent of cases during the holiday period, far higher than the usual 66 percent. Burns caused by contact with hot liquids or steam also tended to increase. To reduce the risk, the agency advised keeping one’s face away when opening pressure cookers or pot lids and restricting children’s access to cooking areas.

Cut-related injuries also increased from normal levels. Around the Lunar New Year period, the eve of Lunar New Year’s Day saw the highest average number of cases, at 71. While men usually make up a larger share of cut-injury patients, the pattern reversed during the Lunar New Year holidays, with women outnumbering men.

Traffic moves slowly in both directions on the Gyeongbu Expressway near the Jamwon interchange in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on Jan. 29, 2025, Lunar New Year’s Day. [NEWS1]

With travel surging nationwide, traffic accidents also climbed. Around the holiday, accidents increased above usual levels two days before Lunar New Year’s Day, at 98.7 cases, and one day before, at 77.5. The figure from two days before was 29.7 percent higher than normal, suggesting extra caution is needed during peak holiday travel.

Looking at traffic accidents by age group during the Lunar New Year holiday, the rate of accidents increased among children aged 0-9 and those in their 20s to 50s. To reduce children’s risk, the agency emphasized the importance of protective devices such as seat belts and child safety seats.

Adult seat belt use during the Lunar New Year holidays was relatively high at 77.3 percent, up from usual levels. For children ages 12 and younger, both seat belt use at 61.5 percent and child safety seat use at 62.5 percent increased but remained far lower than among adults.

Participants from multicultural families learn how to perform a traditional New Year’s bow during a special Seollal holiday class and experience program at the Yongin Etiquette Education Center in Yongin, Gyeonggi, on Jan. 22. [NEWS1]

The agency warned that accidents still frequently occur when children are not secured in a child safety seat and hit their heads on the front seat during sudden braking.

“Because of food preparation and travel increase during the Lunar New Year holidays, it is important to follow basic safety rules when using cooking tools and when driving,” said agency commissioner Lim Seung-kwan. “We hope families can enjoy a safe and happy holiday through small precautions in daily life.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY JUNG JONG-HOON [[email protected]]