추석 (Chuseok) Weekend

This past weekend (9/30-10/1) Korea celebrated its biggest holiday of the year, 추석 (Chuseok). What is Chuseok you ask? The easiest way to answer that question is that it is the Korean version of Thanksgiving. Chuseok is a time for all Koreans to travel back to their hometowns and visit their families. They will bring gifts back to their families and enjoy lots of traditional Korean foods together (such as 송편 "song pyeon", half-moon-shaped rice cakes with filling steamed on pine needles). I have learned a lot about Chuseok when I took Korean class back in UH and this was my first time experiencing the holiday in Korea (from a foreigner's perspective).

Since many Koreans live in Seoul mainly for work or school, they must travel very far back to their hometowns during this holiday. Obviously, this means that traffic heading out of Seoul will be a nightmare the day before Chuseok. If you are going to be visiting Korea during this holiday, here are some tips:

1. Since Seoul will be mostly empty during Chuseok and most places will be closed, your first thought would probably be to take the opportunity to travel to other destinations. This would be a good time to plan a short trip to any neighboring countries such as Japan or China. However, if you do want to travel to other parts of Korea such as Busan, Jeju Island, etc. you will need to decide early and book your tickets in advance.

2. Your other option would be to stay in Seoul and find something to do. Luckily, the subway still runs on these days so you won't need to worry about how to get around during Chuseok. Despite the city being empty during this time, there are certain places that will remain open but they are mostly tourist attraction areas. However, this is a very good thing for people visiting Seoul since the city will be less crowded AND there are special discounts for major tourist sites! For example, the palaces will offer free entrance for people who come wearing Hanboks (traditional Korean dress). Just double check what is going to be open during Chuseok and if there are special hours for those days. Here is a link to where you can find more info on things to do during Chuseok in Korea (this was written for 2011): http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/FU/FU_EN_15.jsp?cid=1381173

Here is how I spent my Chuseok weekend:

Lotte World!~

 EVERLAND!~