Chuseok - Harvest and family festival in South Korea

Celebrated several days

Chuseok, the South Korean family festival, is celebrated on a different date each year. The celebration usually lasts three days. Sunyoung Kim, Senior Marketing Manager at Dr. Oetker Korea in Seoul explains: “Since this year Chuseok is taking place on the 29th of September we're enjoying two more days before and after the Chuseok to visit the hometown and enjoy the time with the family and relatives. We do spend the days to talk, eat and drink together. This leads to an even better understanding within the family.”

Holidays in South Korea are calculated according to the Chinese calendar, which follows the lunar cycle, which is why Chuseok is also called the "Chinese Moon Festival". Comparable to the Christian harvest festival, a variety of traditional dishes are served to symbolize a rich harvest and to share prosperity.

Honoring the family elders and lively events

Moreover, the celebrations are also used to acknowledge older and higher-ranking family members. Deceased family members are honored with a joint visit to the ancestral grave. For many, it is a tradition to clean and decorate the grave on this day. The celebration days become lively due to various folk games, dances and wrestling matches that take place throughout the country.

Typical dishes

A typical delicacy at Chuseok is songpeyon, a pine-flavoured green rice cake filled with sweet chestnuts, sesame seeds and red beans. Songpeyon are often prepared one day before Chuseok with the whole family. There is also a wide variety of meat, vegetables and fruit. “Prepared food is slightly different based on the region and traditions in each family” elucidates Sunyoung Kim.

Homecoming on festive days

In South Korea, especially around Seoul, there is a very high volume of traffic on these days, as Chuseok is a time when many people return to their families to spend time together, maintain old customs and celebrate the importance of community and tradition.