Chuseok

Charye is one of the ancestral memorial rites celebrated during Chuseok, symbolising the returning of favours and honouring ancestors and past generations.[10] The rite involves the gathering of families in holding a memorial service for their ancestors through the harvesting, preparation and presentation of special foods as offerings.[11] The rite embodies the traditional view of spiritual life beyond physical death, respecting the spirits of the afterlife that now also serve to protect their descendants. The foods offered have traditionally varied across provinces depending on what was available, but commonly constitute of freshly harvested rice, rice cakes (songpyeon) and fresh meat, fruit and vegetables.[12] The arrangement of the foods of Charye on the table are also notable: traditionally rice and soup are placed on the north and fruits and vegetables are placed on the south; meat dishes are served on the west and in the middle, and rice cake and some drinks such as makgeolli or soju are placed on the east. These details can vary across regions.[13]

Seongmyo and Beolcho are also done around Chuseok week. Seongmyo is a visiting to ancestral gravesites and Beolcho is the activity to remove weeds around the grave to clean their ancestor's site.[14]

One of the major foods prepared and eaten during the Chuseok holiday is songpyeon (Hangul: 송편; 松餠), a Korean traditional rice cake[7] which contains stuffing made with ingredients such as sesame seeds, black beans, mung beans, cinnamon, pine nut, walnut, chestnut, jujube, and honey. When making songpyeon, steaming them over a layer of pine-needles is critical. The word song in songpyeon means a pine tree in Korean. The pine needles not only contribute to songpyeon's aromatic fragrance, but also its beauty and taste.[14][15]

Songpyeon is also significant because of the meaning contained in its shape. Songpyeon's rice skin itself resembles the shape of a full moon, but once it wraps the stuffing, its shape resembles the half-moon. Since the Three Kingdoms era in Korean history, a Korean legend stated that these two shapes ruled the destinies of the two greatest rival kingdoms, Baekje and Silla. During the era of King Uija of Baekje, an encrypted phrase, "Baekje is full-moon and Silla is half-moon" was found on a turtle's back and it predicted the fall of the Baekje and the rise of the Silla. The prophecy came true when Silla defeated Baekje. Ever since Koreans have believed a half-moon shape is an indicator of a bright future or victory.[15] Therefore, during Chuseok, families gather together and eat half-moon-shaped Songpyeon under the full moon, wishing for a brighter future.[14]

Another popular Korean traditional food that people eat during Chuseok is hangwa. It is an artistic food decorated with natural colors and textured with patterns. Hang is made with rice flour, honey, fruit, and roots. People use edible natural ingredients to express various colors, flavours, and tastes. Because of its decoration and nutrition, Koreans eat hang not only during Chuseok, but also for special events, for instance, weddings, birthday parties, and marriages.[16]

The most famous types of hangwa are yakgwa, yugwa, and dasik. Yakgwa is a medicinal cookie which is made of fried rice flour dough ball, and yugwa is a fried cookie that also refers to a flower. Dasik is a tea cake that people enjoy with tea.[17]

A major element of Chuseok is alcoholic drinks. Liquor drunk on Chuseok is called baekju (백세주, 白酒, literally "white liquor") and nicknamed sindoju (신도주, 新稻酒, literally "new rice liquor") as it is made of freshly harvested rice.

Kooksoondang, a maker of Korean traditional liquors, restored "Yihwaju", rice wine from the Goryeo era (918–1392), and "Songjeolju" that has been widely enjoyed by Joseon (1392–1910) aristocrats. Its "Jamyang Baekseju" package comprises a variety of liquors ― Jayang Baekseju, Jang Baekseju, Baekokju ― that are claimed to enhance men's stamina.

Adults say that if you drink the alcoholic beverage which the ancestors have drunk; there will be nothing you'll be scared of.[18][19]

Other foods commonly prepared are japchae, bulgogi, an assortment of Korean pancakes and fruits.

The Korean people started sharing daily necessities, such as sugar, soap or condiments, as Chuseok gifts in the 1960s. The gifts have changed since the Korean economy has developed. In the 1970s, Korean people had more options for Chuseok gifts; examples include cooking oil, toothpaste, instant coffee sets, cosmetics, television and rice cookers. People chose gift sets of fruit, meat and cosmetics in the 1980s. In the 1990s, people used gift vouchers for Chuseok. In the 21st century, more sophisticated gifts, such as sets of olive oil, natural vinegar and electronic devices have become the most popular option for Chuseok gifts.[20]

Some extravagant gifts can be purchased: one kilogram of wild pine mushrooms, which are expensive because they cannot be artificially grown, (560,000 won) US$480.27 and red ginseng products (1.98 million won) US$1698.11. However, the most exorbitantly priced gift is six bottles of wine at Lotte Department Store for a staggering (33 million won) US$28,301.89.[21]

Chuseok gift sets are big business in Korea, and prices are typically inflated.[22]

A variety of folk games are played on Chuseok to celebrate the coming of autumn and rich harvest. Village folk dress themselves to resemble a cow or turtle and go from house to house along with a nongak band playing music. Other common folk games played on Chuseok are archery, ssireum,(Korean wrestling) tug-of-war, and juldarigi; folk games vary by region.

Ssireum (Hangul: 씨름) is the most popular Korean sport played during Chuseok, and contests are usually held during this holiday. Scholars have found evidence for ssireum's dating back to the Goguryeo dynasty, Ssireum is assumed to have 5000 years of history. Two players wrestle each other while holding onto their opponent's satba, a red and blue band. A player loses when his upper body touches the ground, and the winner becomes Cheonha Jangsa, Baekdu Jangsa, or Halla Jangsa, meaning "the most powerful". The winner gets a bull and 1 kg (2.2 lb) of rice as the prize.[23] Due to its popularity among both the young and the old, ssireum contests are held more frequently, not limited to important holidays.

Taekkyon (Hangul: 태껸 or 택견) is one of the oldest traditional martial arts of Korea. Taekkyon was very popular during the Joseon period where it was practised alongside Ssireum during festivities, including Chuseok. Though originally a hand-to-hand fighting method, plebs used a more tamed version alike to a kicking game. The practitioner uses the momentum of his opponent to knock him down through kicks, swipes and pushes.[24] Tournaments between players from different villages were carried out, starting with the children ("Aegi Taekkyon") before finishing with the adults.

Taekkyon almost disappeared during the Japanese occupation (1910-1945) but is now considered a cultural heritage of Korea (1983) and a UNESCO intangible cultural item (2011).[25]

The Ganggangsullae (Hangul: 강강술래) dance is a traditional folk dance performed under the full moon in the night of Chuseok.[26] Women wear Korean traditional dress, hanbok, make a big circle by holding hands, and sing a song while going around a circle. Its name, Ganggangsullae, came from the refrain repeated after each verse, and contains no actual meaning.

The dance originated in the southern coastal area during the Joseon dynasty. To watch a video clip of the Ganggangsullae dance, click here.

For other folk games, they also play Neolttwigi (also known as the Korean plank), a traditional game played on a wooden board.[27]

Juldarigi (Hangul: 줄다리기), or tug-of-war, was enjoyed by an entire village population. Two groups of people are divided into two teams representing the female and male forces of the natural world. The game is considered an agricultural rite to augur the results of the year's farming. If the team representing the female concept won, it was thought the harvest that year would be rich.

So-nori is a comedic performance in which people used a straw mat to disguise themselves as a cow and call from door to door for all to get together and share food.

Korean people used to watch chicken fights (Hangul: 닭싸움), and learned how chickens fought; a game inspired by such was invented.

To play the game, people are separated into two balanced groups. One must bend his or her leg up and hold it bent with the knee poking out. The players must then attack each other with their bent knees, having to eliminate them by making their feet touch the ground; the last player holding up his or her knee wins.

The game is about strength, speed, and balance; to stay alive, one must display the capability of fighting back.[28]

Hwatu (Hangul: 화투, also known as Go-Stop or Godori) is composed of 48 cards including 12 kinds. The rules of the game and the term water originated from Tujeon. It was formerly similar to Hanafuda, but was changed due to similarities with the latter. It went through a course that made it reduced by four base colors and thinner than before, spreading throughout to turn out goods on a mass-produced basis.