Chicken and Beer Festival
2010 Poster of the Chicken Festival
Since I know that most people like chicken and beer (^_^), I want to tell you about the chicken and beer festival.
There is a chicken festival in Coex. Actually it’s a festival that was created to spur business. However, even if that is the case, a lot of people still patronize this festival. People enjoy new chicken items. Not only chicken festival, they also have the Seoul national wines and spirits expo. Aside from wine, other beverages such as beer are available as well. They also display hard liquors, traditional alcoholic drinks, cheese or olive and etc. Other items such as accessories like wines refrigerator and glasses are also available.
Chicken Festival Poster 2011
I think it’s good chance and experience especially for those people who love drinking. Even people who just want to taste the beverages will surely enjoy this wonderful treat.
Buryeong Mud Festival
Tourist flock Buryeong for the mud festival
I recommend another festival. It is a famous festival to both locals and foreigners alike. It is called mud festival. Boryeong mud festival happens every July in Daecheon swimming beach. Initially, the mud festival which first occurred in 1998, was something that organizers made in order to advertise the superiority of Boryeong Mud and Boryeong Mud Cosmetics. In addition, it is to boasts about the sightseeing places in the vicinity. Since the event was very successful, it became a yearly event.
There are a lot of events during the festival proper. First off, the mud pool sliding! Falling into the mud or sliding into it. You can also opt to massage your whole body with mud. Second event is the mud fall adventure. It’s very simple but interesting. Mud will drop to your body from 5m high! Thirdly, there is this event called “conquering the mud peak”. Individuals compete and grab a flag to win. It’s fun especially when participants roll in the mud.
Songpyeon rice cake that is normally served during Chuseok
Chuseok
One of the most commemorated days in Korea is the Chuseok holiday. It is the thanksgiving day in Korea. It is a major harvest festival and a three-day holiday in Korea celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar. Koreans like me visit ancestral grave and perform some ceremony for ancestors. And we eat delicious foods too. At that time, we eat a lot of rice cakes. The rice cake is called songpyeon. The contents of this rice cake vary depending on the region. But I can guarantee that it’s delicious. Aside from eating songpyeon, some even enjoy rice wines such as sindoju and dongdongju.
Left photo: Korean children perform sebae during Seollal; Right photo: tteokguk that is usually served during the Korean New Year
Seollal
Seollal or the Korean New Year (first day of the lunar calendar) is the most important of the traditional Korean holidays. It consists of a period of celebrations, starting on New Year’s Day. Korean New Year is typically a family-oriented holiday. The three-day holiday is used by many to return to their home towns to visit their parents and other relatives where they perform the ancestral ritual known as charye (차례). Many Koreans dress up in colorful hanbok. Tteokguk (떡국) (soup with rice cakes) is commonly served. They also perform sebae towards elders and sometimes they even play folk games in the household during this holiday.
Article written by: Choi Yun
from GEO Class 5-2 (Prof. Tom Kim and TA Porter)
