Cultural Post 3

[Wonjun Kim]

In Korea, the 15th day of August of every year is chusuk, which means thanksgiving. The 15th day of August is counted in moon calendar and not the sun calendar. During chusuk, people travel down to their hometowns and meet their relatives. Most people hold memorial services for their ancestors or their deceased relatives by going to their tombstones and giving them food and clearing the weeds on their grave. This is one of the major holidays in Korea besides Christmas and New Years Eve. People go down to their hometowns and cook diner and play games and catch up on how they have been living. This is an important tradition in Korea as it began way back in the days when people celebrated the harvesting in the fall. They would share their harvest with the entire village and hold a huge party that everyone can join. This tradition was passed down to the modern days, and people celebrate the chusuk.

[June Choi]

I didn't know that people celebrated chusuk after the fall harveseting, let alone that people would share their harvest with the entire village. Whenever I celebrated it with my family, we would always have good korean food and traditional games. This post made me miss celebrating those holidays with my family and relatives.