Companies are encouraging their employees to use next week's Chuseok (harvest moon) holiday to its fullest, taking advantage of the holiday that's extended by a following weekend, officials said Thursday.

This year's three-day Chuseok period falls on Sept. 14-16 and is followed by a weekend. Taking vacation days on Sept. 12-13 will extend the holiday to nine days with the preceding weekend added on.

Officials at business groups LG and Hanwha said they have recommended their employees to use their vacation days to connect with the holiday. Lotte Chemical went further, ordering its workers to divide themselves in half and use either the 13th or the 19th as an extra vacation day. Data mining firm Innocean Worldwide is also encouraging its staff to extend the holiday with personal vacations and is issuing guidelines for next year's Chuseok holiday so that they can set their plans well in advance.

The Chuseok period next year will be even longer. While the holiday runs from Oct. 3-5 (Tuesday-Thursday), the 6th (Friday) is National Foundation Day, followed by the Oct. 7-8 weekend. The 9th is another holiday: Hangeul Day that commemorates the Korean alphabet. An extra vacation day on Oct. 2 (Monday) would create an 11-day holiday in all.

Many are flying overseas for Chuseok this year, as indicated by flight bookings. According to the Incheon International Airport Corp., 966,344 people are expected to travel through the country's main gateway from Sept. 13-18, a 21.7 percent increase from the holiday period last year.

Korean Air Lines Co. and Asiana Airlines Inc. have said reservations for flights to Oceania and Europe are full.  (Yonhap)