Cho Yoon-ju (right), chief of Korean Food Grand Master Center, on Sept. 22 last year introduces with models the traditional charye (ancestral rite) table and etiquette in a Chuseok demonstration hosted by the Korea Agro-Fisheries and Food Trade Corp. (aT) in Hanok Village of Seoul's Eunpyeong-gu District. (aT)

By Charles Audouin

Aug. 15 (Sept. 17) on the lunar calendar is Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving), one of the country's two largest traditional holidays along with Seollal (Lunar New Year). 

During Chuseok, people give thanks for the year's harvest and to their ancestors. Traditionally, this holiday was a time to share warm bonds among families and friends and pay respects to their ancestors by performing charye (ancestral rites) and sharing food.

Office worker Ju Eunji said called Chuseok "a special time" with family, adding, "My family gathers on Chuseok Eve to make food like jeon (vegetable pancake) and prepare the charye table. Sometime we enjoy chatting while drinking and making food so much that the day passes so quickly."

Pierre-Adrien Brunet, Ju's French husband of three years, naturally spends the holiday with her family in Korea. "My husband is used to spending the holidays with my family, so we don't consider him a foreign stranger," she said. "This year, the top priority for my family to do is cook the food he loves."

For Jung Yousun, mother of a 10-month-old daughter, this Chuseok is special. "I'll visit my parents and in-laws to present my girl dressed in Hanbok (traditional clothes) for the first time."

Incheon International Airport Corp. on Sept. 10 predicted a record 200,671 people per day will use the airport from Sept. 13-18, or a six-day period of special transportation measures over the Chuseok holiday. Shown is the airport's Terminal 1 on Sept. 13 filled with tourists for departure.

Over the decades, Koreans have diversified the ways they spend Chuseok. With the changing of the family structure and rise of single-member households, more are doing their own things over the period rather than sticking to gathering with family in the traditional way.

Office worker Yoon Heejeong will travel to Hong Kong with her mother during the break. She welcomes this five-day excursion because of difficulty in taking long vacations.

Others, however, prefer "me time" during Chuseok without leaving the country.

Jang Jae Won, who is preparing to study abroad, will briefly visit her maternal grandparents on Chuseok Day and later spend time with friends.

"When I was little, I used to visit both sides of the family for ancestral rites, though their homes are 130 km apart," he said. "A few years ago, however, my relatives decided not to perform the rites anymore because of too much housework. So instead, I mostly travel with friends or alone or rest alone."

Indonesian expat Steffanus Pranoto (sitting left) on Sept. 3 poses for photos with friends at the peak of Yongmasan Mountain in Seoul's Jungnang-gu District. (Steffanus Pranoto)

For expats with no family in Korea, they also find their ways to spend the holiday. Chuseok offers a good chance for them to tour other parts of the country over the long break or visit their home countries.

Steffanus Pranoto from Indonesia plans to go hiking with friends on Gwanaksan Mountain in Seoul and eat chicken soup during the holiday.   

Though a traditional holiday, Chuseok is no longer limited to a specific manner of observance. Koreans are choosing to spend it in their own ways. This year's holiday lasts five days including the weekend. 

caudouin@korea.kr