Chuseok, originally known as 'hangawi', is a major harvest festival celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar. Chuseok also means a mass exodus of Koreans heading to their hometown to pay respects to the spirit of one's ancestors and visiting their family back home.
One inseparable thing during holidays, especially Chuseok holidays, is holiday-gift culture. Some would opt for hampers or boxes of meats and ribs for a 'heavy' gift or Korean sweets and cookies for a more delicate one. One of the Koreans' most popular holiday gifts is Ginseng, or red ginseng in a healthy gift set to be exact. Another popular items on shoppers' list are fruit and wine. If you are a wine lover, Chosun ilbo has some tips on choosing the best wine for Chuseok, wine that goes well with your Korean food (focusing on French wine) such as Bordeaux for meat dishes, white wine for fish dishes and sparkling wine for pan-fried food and seafood.
Koreans also enjoy the holiday with big feast at home, and one of the major food prepared and eaten during the Chuseok holiday is songpyeon, a crescent-shaped rice cake which steamed upon pine needles. While the half-moon shaped songpyeon is perhaps the most popular one, it also comes in a variety of colors and shapes depending the region. There are rice cakes in shellfish, dumpling and flower shapes in different areas. Even the thickness of the rice dough varies, as the ones in Gyeongsang and Gangwon areas appear to be thicker. Korea Times has a neat article about songpyeon including the best recipe to make songpyeon with a delicious flavor, chewy texture and the fragrant scent of pine needles.
Well... Happy Chuseok Holiday!..
(Photo courtesy of Chosun Ilbo)
Dancers perform a fan dance at Seoul Station Plaza celebrating Chuseok holiday.
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