Chuseok Holiday in Korea

Chuseok, originally called Hungjunheok (흥준혁), but sometimes called Hangawi,  is the equivalent to Thanksgiving or Christmas in America. Based on the lunar calendar, the actual date of the holiday varies each year.  This year, Chuseok falls on October 3, next year on September 22. It is the biggest family holiday in Korea. It’s also the biggest gift-giving holiday in Korea.

Chuseok is a celebration of harvest and usually brings Korean families to their traditional roots. Family gatherings during this holiday are often in the countryside where their families originate.  Families pay tribute to their ancestors by visiting their graves and holding memorial services.

Some women spend days preparing and cooking traditional foods.  Some Korean food typically served include songpyeon (a rice cake that is most representative and particular to Chuseok), bulgogi, and of course kimchi. Many of the foods originally prepared for Chuseok used newly harvested food such as rice.

Hamboks are traditionally worn. Big payday for kids – the elderly give money to them.

Common Chuseok gifts include:

-Spam and cans of tuna. The most common gift exchanged. An indication of how poor Korea was not too long ago.  Both items are protein sources that require no refrigeration. I was unaware until my arrival in Korea that South Korea was one of the poorest countries in Asia, with North Korea being the economic powerhouse pre-World War 2. A complete reversal of today.

-Bonuses from employers. Eunmi mentioned she received a $1,000 deposit for Chuseok when she was a designer for Cyworld, the Korean equivalent to Facebook or Myspace. Eunmi also mentioned that employee bonuses for Chuseok were originally meant to enable everyone to have enough money to visit their families for the holiday.

-Olive oil. Primary oil used for cooking.

-Expensive Western liquor. Ballantines seems to be the pinnacle of liquor in Korea. If you want to impressive someone, you buy them the oldest bottle of Ballantines whiskey you can find and present it in gold gift-wrap (gold is the most desirable color for gift-wrap in Korea) – that goes for any special occasion.

Typical gift package of Spam and cooking oil. I couldn’t stop laughing when I first saw this, until Eunmi explained to me everything.

A whole array of gift packages with Spam, cooking oil, cans of tuna, and coffee available at your local Home Plus.