Questions about Korea #3. What is the biggest holiday in Korea?

The two largest holidays in Korea are called 'Seol' and 'Chuseok'. These holidays follow the lunar calendar, as a result, the date can change in the solar calendar that we commonly use. We are given 3 days off for the holidays, including the day before and the day after. A lot of people go to the their hometown to spend the holidays with their family.

Seol is the lunar new year. Traditionally, people dress up in Hanbok, which are Korean traditional clothes and visit older generations of their family. During the holiday, they bow to the their seniors and also give them a new year’s greeting. Afterwards, the older generations give them their blessing and advices along with a few treats, fruits or a little of money. Also, in the old days, people used to visit their neighbors. However, nowadays things have changed a little. Only a few people dress up in Hanbok, and young people bow to older people to get an allowance. We call the money ‘luck money’ because the elders have given it with their blessing or word of wisdom.

Another custom during Seol is everyone eats a soup made from rice cake named 'Tteokguk'. Since it is made from a long and slender rice cake, it symbolizes a long life. Also, we slice the rice cake when we cook the tteokguk, and its shape looks like a coin and means wealth. Therefore, to eat the tteokguk means you wish for a long life and riches.

Chuseok is on August 15th in lunar calendar. Some people call it Korean thanksgiving and some other people call it a full moon festival. Actually, Korean harvest season is in September in lunar calendar, but it is meaningful to get a first sample of produce to give thanks to ancestors before the real harvest. Also, people go outside and welcome a full moon in the night and do a traditional dance named ‘Ganggangsullae’ all together. Every participant holds hands with each other, makes a very big circle, spins clockwise or counterclockwise, and sings together under the brightest full moon.

The food of Chuseok is 'Songpyeon', kind of tteok, made from new rice. It is half moon shaped rice cake and contains sweet fillings like sesame seed with honey, red bean paste and so on. Many families used to make the songpyeon all together, but nowadays a lot of family simply buy it and eat together.

Those two are very meaningful holidays to Koreans. Since almost all people go to hometown and visit their family, all the buses and trains are sold out very quickly and it causes the biggest traffic jam of the year. However, recently people prefer to travel with family in the holiday, so the international airport is crowded too.

images are from 'National Archives of Korea'