Chuseok

       Chuseok is the Korean form of Thanksgiving -- a holiday to celebrate a good harvest and to spend time with families. It provides families in the city the chance to go visit relatives in the country (this is called the Exodus). Chuseok takes place in one day, but the day before and after are also official holidays. Koreans pay respect to their ancestors and older relatives. The traditional food of Chuseok is called Songpyeon, or a rice cake in a moon shape. During Chuseok, many Koreans also don Hanbok, traditional Korean dress. For girls, Hanbok is a full skirt with a jacket. For boys, Hanbok is loose pants bound at the ankles and a jacket or vest. Most Hanbok are in very bright colors.

    At school, we got Thursday and Friday off to celebrate Chuseok. On Wednesday, all the children wore their Hanbok to school. We had an instructor come in and teach them traditional manners, and they made their own Songpyeon. My children looked so cute! All the girls reminded me of big, pink marshmellows! I made a video of the manners lesson, so you could see what the children learned!

    Since I did not have any family in the country to go to, I spent Chuseok in Seoul, catching up on my sightseeing. Thursday, I went to the palance, Changdeokgung. This was my favorite palace so far! Friday, I went out with another teacher, Paige, to the royal shrine, Jongmyo, and another palace, Changgyeonggung. Saturday I wanted to go hiking, so I made my way to Mt. Bugak. There is a skyway there that goes across the top of the mountain. It was very beautiful! Saturday night, I attended the Asia Harvest Festival at the National Center for Korean Traditional Performing Arts. This performance celebrated not only Chuseok, but also the harvest traditions in Vietnam and China. It was a beautiful performance. I really enjoyed hearing traditional Korean music, and also learning about traditions in other Asian countries. The video is kind of long, but a good chance to listen to traditional Korean music.

    I have all of my pictures loaded up on Picasa, so be sure to check those out! Plus, I have pictures from a little show I went to called Bubble World.