Happy Chuseok!

Annyeonghaseyo and Happy Thanksgiving! Yes, it's only mid-September, but in Korea, it's time to give thanks. This year, Chuseok (also known as Hangawi) fell during September 14-17, which meant a big break from school and work for everyone. During this harvest festival, Koreans reconnect with their heritage by honoring their ancestors and giving thanks for a plentiful harvest. They celebrate by visiting with extended family, playing traditional games, and eating typical foods.

On Tuesday the 13, the last day before Chuseok vacation, children all over the country went to school wearing traditional clothing, called hanbok. For women and girls, it is usually a full-length skirt made of silky material along with a short top with sleeves that ties in the front; for men and boys, it's baggy pants (think Aladdin-style) with a robe-like top that also fastens in front. The designs are bright colors and many have intricate designs, embroidery, stripes, and the like.

Have you ever seen anything cuter? (Ignore my oversized and unflattering rented hanbok!)

Tony's kids lined up to show off their hanbok, ready to bow.

When the kindies wore their hanbok to school, I about died from the cuteness. I love the pride that the Korean people have in their culture and heritage. Considering these kids are aged 5-7 and they likely won't fit into their hanbok next year, many of them still sported beautiful and high-quality garb.

On Chuseok Activity Day, I got to teach the kids how to play Yut Nori, a game based off Confucian principles that also incorporates symbols of the earth and the harvest season. Source

 
Tuesday was our special Chuseok Activity Day at school. We began the day with a comparison of Korean and American Thanksgiving, practiced the traditional Korean way of bowing, and did a fashion show so all the kids could boast their gorgeous regalia. Then, we played games like Tuho (throwing arrows), Catch the Tail (like flag football, without the football), and Yut Nori (I swear the game "Sorry" was probably based off of this ancient, original version). The children also got to design and decorate their own wooden top toys, and then they prepared Songpyeon, a type of glutenous rice cakes filled with mung beans that are very common to eat during the holiday. Legend says if your Songpyeon doesn't look pretty, your children will be ugly, so you'd better form that rice cake nicely!

Whoever prepared these songpyeon must have beautiful children! Source

As a foreigner, Chuseok was not only a well-deserved break from work and an excuse to go on a trip (which I'll detail in the next post), but it also served as a great opportunity to learn about Korean culture in a more hands-on way. I got to eat foods that I might not have tried otherwise, and learn the meaning and symbolism behind different customs and traditions. The other foreign teachers and I even got the chance to wear a hanbok during school! Of course, they looked more like giant nightgowns or bath robes on us because they were cheap material and weren't fitted for our bodies, but it was still fun to play dress up. Most of all, seeing the children celebrate and connect with their own culture in an environment where they're usually only exposed to our language and customs was rewarding... and of course, they looked way too stinking precious in their hanbok!

A blurry bow. Happy Chuseok!