Chuseok 2007

Chuseok is here; it's one of the two biggest holidays in Korea (명절, 名節). Bosses give gifts to subordinates, and children give stuff to parents. My boss at CDI gave each of us teachers two bottles of French wine – one red and one white. Very nice – since SY is pregnant, it's up to me to finish both.

Other presents are less impressive. For example, here’s one packaged gift I saw in a supermarket: tuna, Spam, and olive oil for about $29.


Families also get together. Because the holiday lasts three full workdays (this year, Monday through Wednesday), there’s no excuse for not visiting the parents or grandparents, no matter how far away they live.

So we met with SuYoung’s parents, brothers, nieces and nephews on Monday evening for dinner, and again today for breakfast. After breakfast, we went for a short hike, where I took this picture of her oldest brother and the grandkids.


Though customs vary according to family and personal religious practices, there’s also a Confucian-style ancestral aspect to the Chuseok holiday. In SY’s family, they arrange food on a table in front of pictures of their predecessors, and the men bow (절 style, face-to-ground). Maybe it’s because both SY and her mother are Christians, but they are exempt from this.

Typically, the sons visit their parents on Monday and Tuesday morning, then go to their in-laws on Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday. Daughters-in-law get the brunt of the work – they have to help with the cooking. Unlike wives of Korean husbands, SY has it nicer – since my parents aren’t in Korea, she gets to visit her family on Monday and Tuesday, then relax on Wednesday.

The traffic out of Seoul to the countryside and then back in is fittingly called “traffic hell” (교통지옥, 敎通地獄). Since about 40 percent of the population lives in this corner of the country, the tide of cars rushing back and forth multiplies the hours spent on the road into a true nightmare. (Here's a better picture from a newspaper.)

I’m sure glad my wife’s family lives in Seoul – their apartment is only a single bus ride away.