Different faces of Korea's Chuseok holiday
Let’s take a tour and learn more about the wonderful stories of GEO students as they share highlights of their experiences during this three-day holiday.
GaEun – I was training for Psychodrama this summer, so it was a happy holiday for a long time. I was so happy. During the night of Chuseok, I drank beer and talked a lot with my mom and dad. We talked about my psychodrama play (but I think they couldn’t understand…), my future major, and love. I said, “I want to have a romantic relationship with someone this semester.” Then they said, “You are too young!” In their point of view, they think I’m always ‘too young’ to do something like that.
Min Jeong – I went to my grandmother’s home in Sokcho during the Chuseok. Sokcho is famous for the fried chicken restaurant located in Sokcho Central Market. Although there were many people, my sister and I decided to eat chicken there. We waited for 30 minutes before we could buy chicken. How does it taste? It was not special. It’s just that the amount of chicken was a lot more compared to other restaurants. That night, we went to the beach after eating dinner. We had so much fun running by the seashore. Suddenly high waves came to us so we got wet. Despite the fried chicken’s so-so taste and being wet on the beach, for me, it was still a very fun Chuseok.
Yeon Jae – Chuseok is a big holiday in Korea. While inside the train headed for my hometown, there were too many people. All seats were occupied and I had no choice but to stand by the entry door for three hours. At that time, I saw the old woman who yield seat to someone and then, I also give her my seat. The old woman noticed my book which has a stamp of Catholic University of Korea. She said that she lives in Sosa. We have a good time talking to each other for three hours. She told me about her life stories and we became friends. I really felt good.
Young Sang – We are six in the family: my parents, three sisters and I. Why do I mention about my family? This is because families are just about everything on Korean holidays especially, Chuseok and Seollal. It is during this time of the year that I would like to spend time with my family. Since my parents and sisters have their jobs as well as lots of task in everyday life, and since we live separately, I couldn’t usually meet them. That’s why I was very happy being with them on Korean holidays. We had conversation about how we had lived, cooked Korean Chuseok food for ancestor worship ceremonies, paid attention to ancestors and met our relatives. These are the ordinary Chuseok activities of Korean families. My family and I would drink a lot whenever we get together after a long time of not seeing each other. My whole family is like alcohol monsters. And so am I. Drinking Korean alcohol during Korean Holiday means my family is still healthy. After paying attention to our ancestors, we always drink until early morning of the following day. That is why I always have hangover. But even with that, I like the memories of being with my family.
Sung Jin – My family and I went to my uncle’s house. We had a “Jaesa” together. Jaesa is a Korean traditional ceremony for honoring deceased ancestors – especially grandparents. After Jaesa, we shared food and drinks used in Jaesa with my family. And we went to my uncle’s house. With my cousins, we played “blue marble” – a Korean board game. I won the game and got 20,000won for first prize.
Photo credit: http://english.visitkorea.or.kr
from GEO Class 4-5 (Prof. Roger Foard and TA Keith Capoy)
