South Koreans too are celebrating the Year of Pig and hoping for blessings in the new year. Many young South Koreans wish to find a job. As Joseph Kim reports, some are even choosing temporary holiday work over seeing their parents during the holiday -- because working is less stressful.

South Korea is ringing in the year of the pig.

With songs, games and food.

For many here, it's a chance to remind themselves of their roots.

CHOI KYUNG-MOO, CULTURE GUIDE SEOUL METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT "Not everyone can go down to their hometowns for ancestral rites so many people come here to the Namsan Hanok Village. And for those in Seoul, it gives them a change of pace for the Lunar New Year."

The Lunar New Year, or Seollal in Korean, has typically been a holiday celebrated with family.

For some South Koreans though, those customs no longer feel relevant.

JOSEPH KIM SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA "When you tie a ribbon, you're wishing good fortune for the new year and with South Korea's economy slowing, many young South Koreans will be praying for employment."

This includes Kim Tae-un and his friends, who are working as traditional Joseon-era guards for the event.

According to the OECD, South Korea's jobless rate is expected to hit 4% this year, the highest in almost two decades.

Meanwhile, the situation for the younger generation is more dire as the youth unemployment rate hovers between 8-11% each month.

KIM TAE-UN STUDENT "We're working instead of going to our hometowns because we need money and going home is very stressful. I still haven't gotten a job so seeing my family would be very hard for me. I'd rather work because it's more comfortable."

Recent polls show the biggest reason South Koreans aren't going home for the holidays is because the burden they feel from their families nagging.

Whether it is about not being able to get a job or marriage, South Koreans are slowly choosing to forego traveling home to avoid confrontation.

But experts suggest it's also part of a bigger social trend.

PROF. KYE SEUNG-BUM SOGANG UNIVERSITY "Placing family above all else is not as prevalent in South Korea as it used to be, especially for younger people. They don't feel the need or urgency to be with their families because they feel it's more important to try to survive and make a living on their own. If they have money, they want to have fun or travel abroad, and if they don't, then they feel the need to use the holiday to earn some extra cash."

For South Koreans, many are hoping the year of the pig brings prosperity.

But the wishes themselves may soon become relics of the past as South Korea's traditions are changing.