Happy Chuseok!
As I previously mentioned, I was privy to an extra-long weekend off of work because of the holiday Chuseok. Chuseok is known as the Korean version of Thanksgiving Day and it has the same amount of food and activity-based traditions that we have in Canada. The holiday stems from the custom of Koreans thanking their ancestors –through Charye, memorial services –for the year’s harvest and sharing their abundance with family and friends. Giving that everyone is getting together with their family, many Koreans return to their hometowns in countryside; this left subways and shops around Seoul far less busy than they usually would be –yay! Unfortunately for above-ground travellers, Korea’s traffic is atrocious because the already strained highways become packed with families who are wanting to visit family and their ancestral graves to fulfill their familial duties. Koreans are required to participate in Seongmyo (visiting ancestral graves) and Beolcho (clearing the weeds around the grave).
Other Chuseok traditions include wearing the Hanbok (traditional dress) and buying new clothes for every member of the household; this custom is known as Chuseokbim. The idea of giving is very apparent around Chuseok as the grocery stores prepare gift packs and Wonderland’s staff room makes way for oodles of fruit and cakes that the parents have brought to give thanks for their children’s education. Even the foreign teachers received gifts from the principals: delicious (I hope) plum wine!
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