Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Sydney

Chuseok, Korean Thanksgiving Day, is one of the biggest and most important holidays in Korea. Family members from near and far come together to share food and stories and to give thanks to their ancestors. This year, the Chuseok falls on 21 September. For tourists, the holiday also provides a good opportunity to experience traditional culture throughout Korea. Let’s take a closer look at the traditional Korean holiday of Chuseok.

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Traditions and Customs of Chuseok

In the morning of the Chuseok, family members gather at the head house of the family to hold memorial services called charye in honour of their ancestors. Freshly harvested rice, alcohol and songpyeon(half-moon rice cakes) are prepared as an offering to ancestors. After the service, family members sit down together at the table to enjoy delicious food. Another traditional custom of Chuseok is seongmyo, or visit to the ancestral graves. 

Traditional Folk Games

As Chuseok is a celebration of harvest and abundance, the holiday period is made joyful with various entertainment and folk games such as samulnori(traditional percussion quartet), talchum(mask dance), ganggangsullae(Korean circle dance), and ssireum(traditional Korean wrestling). Ganggangsullae is performed during Jeongwol Daeboreum(celebration of 15th day of the first lunar calendar) and Chuseok. In this dance, women dressed in hanbok (traditional Korean clothing) join hands in a large circle and sing together on the night of the first full moon and on Chuseok. 

Chuseok Foods

A variety of foods are prepared during Chuseok to celebrate the bountiful harvest of the year, and one of the most significant foods that represents Chuseok is songpyeon. Songpyeon is prepared with rice powder and then filled with sesame seeds, beans, red beans, chestnuts, or other nutritious ingredients. It is an old tradition for the entire family to make songpyeon together on the eve of Chuseok. Other significant Chuseok foods include traditional liquor and jeon(Korean pancakes). Jeon are made by slicing fish, meat and vegetables and then lightly frying them in a batter of flour and eggs. They make a perfect pair with traditional Korean liquor.

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http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/ATR/SI_EN_3_6.jsp?cid=811650

* This content is provided by the Korea Tourism Organization Sydney Office.

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