Chuseok-- A Traditional Korean Celebration

Korean Culture Alert

Chuseok-Korean Thanksgiving Day

This year the traditional Korean Chuseok holiday is October 5-6. Most South Korean firms will close from several day and some firms will be closed for the entire week.

Celebrated for centuries as the lunar-based Fall Harvest Festival, Chuseok is among the most important of Korean holidays, a day filled with family and tradition. Most Koreans (in Korea) travel to join their family and celebrate traditional customs of Chuseok, including ancestral memorial rituals, followed by a day of family activities and special foods. One of the most popular of the traditional foods is song pyeon, which is a pine-flavored rice cake.

In Korea, during the days prior to the actually holiday, streets and stores are packed with shoppers buying food and gifts. Gift giving is an important aspect of the holiday. This year gift certificates will be popular presents to family members. In Korea, newly harvested fruit is a preferred gift for relatives and neighbors, while liquor is often given to colleagues and work supervisors.

As for travel, Chuseok is similar to holiday travel in the U.S., each year record numbers of Korean jam the roads, rail lines, and airports with holiday traffic. I’ve already advised my clients and friends not to travel to Korea.

Please take a moment this week prior to the weekend and wish your Korean colleages a Happy Chuseok.