Chuseok, A Korean Holiday

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I lived in Korea for 2.5 years. One thing I realized very quickly is that Chuseok is their biggest holiday. Everyone talks about it for a while before it starts. When you ask what it is, they’ll tell you that it’s “Korean Thanksgiving”. This actually is a good description for a couple of reasons which I will explain.

First, one Chuseok tradition is the family dinner, much like western Thanksgiving celebrations. Obviously, the food is very different but equally important.

Much like American Thanksgiving, Chuseok is about giving thanks for the harvest. Above is a photo I took of traditional farming in a traditional village.
One central element of Chuseok, that’s very different from Thanksgiving, is that it’s about worshiping ancestors. Koreans take it very seriously and only want the best food for their ancestors. Don’t go to the market or supermarket right before Chuseok if you can avoid it. It’s very hectic and pushy.
Much like Thanksgiving and Christmas, the main theme of Chuseok is leisure and family time.

Just like most crowded East Asian countries, holiday traffic is totally insane. I remember riding on a bus stuck in traffic at 2 am in the morning. 2 AM!!! How can so many people be on the road in the middle of the night?

(I took all the photos that aren’t marked as coming from Photosforclass.com)

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