Story of Chuseok (Hankawi)

Chuseok is one of Korea’s most largely celebrated holidays. It is a time when families and friends gather to share food and enjoy their time together, giving thanks to their ancestors for the year’s bountiful harvests. This year, Korea’s representative traditional holiday of Chuseok falls on September 14th of the solar calendar. It will last three days, from September 13th to September 15th and marks a prime opportunity for foreign visitors to tour Korea’s cities and experience Korea’s culture while all the bustling crowds are away visiting family relatives. Let us look a little deeper in to what Chuseok represents for Koreans.

As one of Korea’s three major holidays, the other two being Seollal (New Year’s Day) and Dano (the 5th of the 5th month of the year according to the lunar calendar), Chuseok is also referred to as Hangawi, which means the very middle of August, or August 15th according to the lunar calendar. As an agrarian society throughout history, Hangawi was the day in which Koreans thanked the ancestors for the year’s harvest and shared their abundance with family and friends. Although the exact origin of Chuseok is unclear, Chuseok can be traced back to a religion related to the moon from ancient times. The sun was considered natural, but the full moon that came once a month to brighten the dark night was seen as a grateful presence. Therefore, festivities took place on the day of the largest full moon, on August 15th of the lunar calendar, and thus became, and is to this day, one of the most important days of celebration.

Chuseok Customs
On the morning of Chuseok Day, Songpyeon (type of Korean rice cake) and food prepared with the year’s fresh harvest are arranged to give thanks to ancestors through Charye (ancestor memorial service). After Charye, families visit their ancestors’ graves and engage in Beolcho, where weeds around the burial grounds are removed. As the night nears, families and friends enjoy the beautiful view of the full harvest moon and play folk games such as Ganggangsullae (Korean circle dance).

Songpyeon->

- Charye (ancestor memorial services)On Chuseok morning, family members gather at their homes to hold memorial services in the honor of their ancestors called Charye. Formal Charye services are held twice a year during Seollal (New Year’s Day) and Chuseok. The difference between the two services is that during Seollal the major representative food is white tteok-guk, a rice cake soup, while during Chuseok the major representative food is freshly harvested rice. After the service, the family members sit down together at the table to enjoy some delicious food to symbolize their blessings.

- Beolcho (removing weeds around the grave) and Seongmyo (visiting ancestral graves)Visiting ancestral graves during Chuseok is known as ‘Seongmyo’ and during this visit, family members usually cut the weeds that have grown around the graves in the summer season. Taking care of the ancestral graves such as removing weeds is called ‘Beolcho’. This custom is considered a duty and an expression of devotion. On the weekends, about one month prior to the Chuseok holidays, Korea’s highways become extremely congested with families visiting their ancestral graves to fulfill their ancestral duties.

- Ssireum (Korean wrestling)In the past, the strongest of the villagers gathered to hold wrestling competitions. The sport of wrestling on sand while being surrounded by spectators has become a traditional favorite in Korea. The last wrestler standing was considered the winner and was acknowledged as the villager’s strongest man and took home cotton, rice, or a calf as his prize. Today, Ssireum (Korean wrestling) competitions are still held as a folk competition, a one-on-one game to determine the strongest man in Korea.

- Ganggangsullae (Korean circle dance) Mothers and daughters dressed in hanbok (traditional Korean dress) gather around in a circle, holding hands, and sing together. This dance originated from the Joseon Dynasty during the Japanese invasion when the Korean army dressed Korean mothers and daughters in military uniforms and had them circle a mountain peak to make the Japanese think the Korean military was greater in number than it actually was. Through this strategy, the Koreans were eventually able to defeat the Japanese.

- Chuseokbim (Chuseok dress)Traditionally on Chuseok, the head of the household would buy new clothes for everyone, including the servants. This custom was known as Chuseokbim. Usually, a traditional hanbok is worn, but nowadays newly purchased clothes are not limited to hanbok. Today, families put on a modern type of hanbok called Chuseokbim and hold Charye services, and afterwards, they enjoy their time together.