Chuseok

Submitted by I on 12 October 2006 - 3:59pm.

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Korea Chat

How was everyone's Chuseok? Did you get to do anything "Korean"? Does anyone know what exactly Chuseok is all about?

Chuseok

Submitted by Ogedei on 12 October 2006 - 7:35pm.

My coteachers and my students tell me that Chuseok is their Harvest Moon Festival, their version of Thanksgiving. They have a feast, make some sort of rice dumpling (forgot what the name was), and pay homage to the ancestors at those burial mounds you see scattered in the countryside.

Actually, I did something Vietnamese / Chinese - I had moon cakes to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival (which is on the same day as Chuseok) and made a wish to the mythical Moon Lady on a full moon night. :) I gave some moon cakes to the other teachers at the office and they all quite liked it since they've never had something like them before.

I did go to Jinju on the Wednesday of that week, though.

Chuseok

Submitted by lizm on 12 October 2006 - 11:05pm.

ditto to ogedei... except that it's kind of like north american Christmas. gifts are exchanged by families, it's actually pretty crazy how all these "gift packs" pop up all over the place. i got two myself, from teachers at school... dove products seem to be very popular... does everything need to be commercialized? the harvest festival here - chuseok - the harvest festival in NA - Halloween... it's all about making money... maybe a little less so here in SK, but it's still there. i've also been told that women HATE chuseok because they have to do all the work (cooking, cleaning, serving...) and the men just get to sit back and relax.... American thanksgiving anyone??? lizm :)

Women and Chuseok

Submitted by Charles on 12 October 2006 - 11:57pm.

I asked many Koreans how their Chuseok was and it is exactly like you said. All the men got this blissful smile on their face before replying, "Chuseok? Oh, it was great...very relaxing. The women that I asked, on the other hand, would kind of sigh and seem to get even more tired as they answered, "I was very busy. I don't like Chuseok very much because I have to do so much work." Don't the men help out with the work? "No, they just sit around and watch TV or read the paper. I don't think it is fair."

The women of the family get

Submitted by ohstopyourself on 6 November 2006 - 9:03pm.

The women of the family get together and cook the day before Chusuck up until the day! It's veeeery busy for them, but the men just relax. On Chusuck day, the men are the ones who bow to their ancestors, the women do not. However, if there is no son, then the daughter will bow, which is much more of a recent thing!

Korean families visit their father's side on Chusuck day and then their mother's (maybe) after.

Chuseok "Gift Packs"

Submitted by I on 13 October 2006 - 12:03am.

I saw a really interesting gift pack at E-Mart...SPAM. That's right. A specially packaged and overly priced box of different kinds of SPAM. I couldn't imagine giving someone some cans of SPAM for a present but then again, I don't buy the stuff in the first place. If someone was into SPAM I am sure they would very much appreciate gift. Different strokes for different folks.

Spam Haha.

Submitted by JonIIDX on 18 October 2006 - 11:07am.

Hahahahahahahahaha... That is awesome. Nothing quite like getting a load of spam to use in soups or other dishes as a fake-meat substitute. Hah. I heard that a lot of people in Asia like spam a lot though... it's cheap, easy to prepare, and can be scattered just about everywhere that has other flavors that can overpower the crappy flavor of the spam.

I'm sure that after Chuseok, the women will be anxious to feed their men as much spam as possible. I know I would! Hahaha.

Spam

Submitted by Ogedei on 18 October 2006 - 3:07pm.

I was practically raised on Spam, having lived on a tiny rock in the Pacific (Guam) where quality meat his hard to come by. It serves as a substitute in just about anything - Spamburger, Spam Yakisoba, Spam wraps, Spam-nigiri, etc, etc.