Holidays Abroad in South Korea

How was your thanksgiving this year?

I wanted to tell you some of the holiday plans I made this year. Last year, I went
to Seoul Fireworks Festival, bungee jumping, Jinju Lantern Festival, and
sightseeing in Gyeongju [Read more about it in my very first blog post here]. This
year was time to experience the traditions in a Korean Family's home. Before we
continue, check out the amazing view of me hiking in Korea for the first time!

Korean Thanksgiving (Chuseok - 추석) Tradition
This year chuseok is about 5 days compared to 10 days last year. Fortunately, my
Korean friend invited me over to his home to experience “REAL” Korean
Thanksgiving tradition. I took a train to Ansan about 1.5 hours away from my dormitory.
I prepared some gifts as it is customary to show your appreciation when you are invited
to someone’s home. I had Hawaiian coffee and some Filipino mochi I bought at a nearby
market. When I arrived, I was surprised to meet the my friends family and relatives. I met
his parents last year before Christmas, but it was first to see his dad side. His cousins
had some good English and I enjoyed eating with them and we sang at a noraebang
(Karaoke room) after.

When I woke up, there was a strong aroma of food being cooked and prepared. The
family and relatives were setting up the table and the men were dressed in tuxedos. But the
women and the younger girls were just on the side watching. The men take turns
honoring the ancestors by pouring drinks and serving rice to specific ancestors.
Then at each turn, everyone, including myself, bowed down to the ground twice.
Each food and drink placement is important on the table on this ancestral right - 차례.

Also, the mother of the household insisted I take a lot of pictures and videos since

it is my first Korean Thanksgiving, so it was fine to document this experience.
However, I was wearing only a polo shirt and pants and wished I brought a
more formal outfit.

After honoring the ancestors, they cleaned up the area and separated the tables in
the living room. Everyone sat down together and we ate the food we prayed over. We
got to enjoy some soups, fruits, vegetables, fish, and other entrees. Not many
Korean families celebrate this holiday tradition with the formal ancestral rights. In this
picture there is a rice wine (백세주) in a silver cup that is said when you drink it you
will live for a 100 years.

Family Outing

After the ceremony, they allowed me to nap because I was exhausted from the
school’s midterm exams coming up. They took me to a popular shrimp place
where they cooked it fresh and serve it fried as well. Then you can get a
knife cut noodles with seafood. All foods that I had from their house to nearby
cities was amazing.

Finally we ended the trip with going to the nearby sea. This place had a nice
boardwalk where you get to see the ocean and the landscape. They also got
some snacks to feed the sea birds, which was a interesting experience but
you should not always do this hahaha. I am very thankful for their hospitality.  
A few days later I went off to Jeju, so checkout my next blog post!

x

Fall at Soonchunhyang and Korean Holidays

Entering Soonchunhyang University (South Korea)

Ft. Korean Thanksgiving - Holidays

Communication before entering school:

The morning of my flight to Korea, I got a notification that my flight will be 3 hours late! I was worried that the school facilitated bus will leave me because I will arrive 10:00 pm instead of 7:00 pm. I emailed and facebook messaged the hosting universities study abroad director but did not get an answer before leaving my flight. Fortunately, the incoming and returning exchange students had a big group chat and they were able to contact the director. Upon arrival, I found out many of our flights were delayed and we took the bus together to enter our dorms at 11:30 pm. Overall, the communication between other exchange students and program director is great!

Entering a suite of 12 students:

I have always anticipated the dorm room experience as I live at home in Hawaii. When arriving in your dorm, only the foreign exchange students (around 3 per suite) will be present, then a week later the Koreans will come over. It was an interesting transition, but fortunately, they had good English conversation skills. I also brought them some Hawaiian Chocolate Macadamia Nuts to share with them.

One month later… KOREAN THANKSGIVING (추석 - Chuseok)

This is a very important three day holiday where they gather with families in celebration of full moon harvest every fall. At this time, it is normal to visit ancestral graves and maintain it by picking up the weeds. A representing dish is songpyeon, which is a type of rice cake prepared with rice powder, assorted with different fillings such as sesame seed, red beans, other beans, chestnuts and so on. Upon the start of the holidays, the global office of the school shared some songpyeon and rice drinks.

This year, the holiday was on October 3-5, but they extended the holiday observing days in school starting Oct. 2 (Monday) to Oct. 6 (Friday). The following Monday, October 9 was Hangul Independence days, celebrating the writing system of Korea, thus practically having a 10 day holidays (weekends included).

My plan for the Korean Thanksgiving:

Three days, Two night stay in Hongdae, Seoul. Hongdae is one of the districts that are great for foreigners to stay in. I got an affordable Airbnb with two friends with a great park and stream where families hang out all day and night. Also, got a needed classic American Breakfast there :) And finally got to see the annual Fireworks at the famous Han River.

Bungee Jumping in Gapyeong, north of Seoul. I went with my suitemates and his friends as it is $40 to bungee jump. It was held at Nami Island, a famous water park. It is 4 hours away from my school, but 2.5 hours away from central Seoul. It was a great way to try new things and feel adrenaline.

Jinju Lantern festival, one night stay. I made a Korean friend in HPU when they are visiting to learn English for a week. When I met with her in Korea, she told me to visit this place and I decided to bring friends and meet a fellow Korean student. It is far south of Korea and I took an express bus there.

Meet a suitemate in Gyeongju, a historical place where he grew up. Straight from the lantern festival, I took another express bus to the east of Korea to visit a city full of historical landmarks and villages. My suitemate was a great tour guide and we rented a Hanbok,  traditional clothing of Korea.

Holidays are over… STUDY TIME!

After this holiday you have a week to review as it is midterm time! Classes here are really interesting, and I will tell you more all about my studies in the next blog post. Within the next two weeks, I have final exams and last week of classes. Experiencing the change of seasons from Summer to Fall to Winter is keeping me motivated. Let’s work hard and see you guys again!