Chuncheon, SOUTH KOREA – Chuseok (추석) is a major Korean autumn harvest festival often called the “Korean Thanksgiving.”
It’s a three-day national holiday celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar under the brightest full moon, according to Asia Society.
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Chuseok, or the Mid-Autumn Festival, is also called the Mooncake Festival or Moon Festival. It’s celebrated in countries like China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Singapore, and Malaysia as well as within the Chinese Asian diaspora communities worldwide.
In South Korea, people come together on the day of the holiday to meet their great-grandparents, grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles – people you don’t usually meet or see on a daily basis.
This holiday is meant to celebrate family togetherness, harvest gratitude, and the full moon.
But it is undeniable that some traditional celebration techniques in South Korea have evolved over the thousands of years since the creation of this holiday.
Chuseok has shifted from a rigid and religious holiday focused on ancestral rituals, 제사 (Jesa), into a relaxed, modern celebration centered on family bonding and rest.
While traditional preparations used to cause immense holiday stress – especially for women, who spent days cooking specific ritual foods – modern Korean families have largely simplified or skipped these duties.
Instead of grueling kitchen work, people now focus on meeting up with loved ones, eating good food (often in nice restaurants or bought pre-made), using the long weekend to travel or recharge.
My parents and I love to visit my great-grandfather in Chuncheon (춘천), which is the capital city of Gangwon Province (강원도), located in the northern part of South Korea.
We catch up with my great-grandfather on recent events, chit-chat and simply enjoy each other’s company.
After catching up, we explore some of Chuncheon’s tourist attractions and admire the amazing views. The landscape is especially beautiful, surrounded by mountains and lakes.
Usually on another day, we meet up with my grandma and spend the rest of the day eating more good food, walking in forests and enjoying each other’s company.
Even though the way people celebrate Chuseok has changed over time, the heart of the holiday remains the same: gathering with the people we love and feeling grateful for the time we have together.
Josephine Yein Lee is a Reporter with Youth Journalism International.
