Have fun on your Chuseok holidays! (\uc5ec\ub7ec\ubd84 \ubaa8\ub450 \uc990\uac70\uc6b4 \ucd94\uc11d \uc5f0\ud734 \ubcf4\ub0b4\uc138\uc694!) \u00a0Today (Sept. 27) is the iconic Korean holiday of Chuseok (\ucd94\uc11d), which means Korean Thanksgiving Day. \u00a0Each year, the holiday falls on a different day based on the Lunar Calendar. \u00a0The holiday celebration is actually three days long, which means yesterday and tomorrow are the bookends of Chuseok in 2015. \u00a0Korean families travel to their ancestral homes outside of the major cities like Seoul and Busan, creating massive traffic jams and tripling travel times.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately for Korean workers this year, it might mean only one day off. \u00a0(More on that later this week.) \u00a0But Chuseok is family time with family and for honoring their elders, often putting out\u00a0everything from massive fruit displays to a full pig’s head in order to honor the spirits of their deceased ancestors who travel back home. \u00a0Chuseok itself is a fall harvest celebration, and the women of the family have a marathon session all week of preparing everything from rice and fruit to deep-fried breaded vegetables, Korean pancakes, and fish–or assorted jeon (\uc804)<\/em>.<\/p>\n But the one snack on every Korean table today is\u00a0songpyeon\u00a0<\/em>(\uc1a1\ud3b8). \u00a0Songpyeon is a Korean rice cake made from grounded glutinous–or sticky–rice. \u00a0The dough is made into small half-moon like shapes, and filled with mushed up red beans, sesame seeds, and sometimes chestnuts. \u00a0This practice is a major bonding time between mothers and their daughters.<\/p>\n In large gatherings, Koreans, who sometimes wear the traditional\u00a0hankbok<\/em>\u00a0garments (particularly younger members to show respect to the elders), bow three times from a standing to a kneeling position in front of the table of food. \u00a0Koreans also pour alcohol like\u00a0soju<\/em> (\uc18c\uc8fc)\u00a0<\/em>or\u00a0makgeolli (\ub9c9\uac78\ub9ac)<\/em>\u00a0as an offering (but also plenty for themselves).<\/p>\n For anyone who has lived and worked in Korea, Chuseok is also a time for the (sometimes awkward) gift-giving. \u00a0Small stores and large supermarket chains sell dozens to hundreds of gift sets leading up to Chuseok. \u00a0The awkward part is what is inside. \u00a0You\u00a0can<\/em> get loads of fruit or Korean snacks. \u00a0But you will probably<\/em> get a very large set of spam or shampoo or toothpaste.<\/p>\n Yesterday, my neighbor, who is from Yemen, here in Hungary, where I live, told me that now is the big holiday in\u00a0China<\/em>. \u00a0China celebrates a similar festival at this time, but their mid-Autumn harvest festival is actually on August 15, which the Koreans recognize as hangwei<\/em> (\ud55c\uac00\uc704), which is the old word for Chuseok and still can refer to today’s holiday and rarely to August 15. \u00a0It is a shame that Korea, with all of its global soft power and international outreach, can be overshadowed on Chuseok, one of the most important days of the year in Korean culture.<\/p>\n If you plan to travel to Korea, I wouldn’t necessarily plan to travel to “see” Chuseok, since it is typically a family day and most businesses are closed. \u00a0But if you are lucky enough to have friends there, you will probably be invited, and leave with enough spam and shampoo to last you until Chuseok 2016.<\/p>\n