All of South Korea will embark on a five-day Chuseok vacation, one of the most celebrated holidays in Korea, starting on Saturday (September 25).
Chuseok, which falls Sept. 28 this year, is observed to honor ancestors followed by a much-awaited re of family and friends. It is a time when Korean families come together over oodles of freshly made songpyeon (rice cakes) and fun traditional games as the gentle autumn breeze heralds news of a good harvest.
At the break of dawn on Chuseok, family members dressed in their traditional finery carry out a simple memorial service known as charye, either at home or at the family gravesite. The elaborate food offering placed before the burial mound or tombstone is prepared with great efforts by the women in the family.
Food plays a big role in the celebration, as it does in most traditional societies. Koreans brew wine and prepare various dishes with beef, fish and vegetables, all set to dazzle the taste buds. A variety of fruits like persimmons, dates, nuts and more recently, apples and pears have also made their way into Korean traditional offerings. All these gastronomical delights are first offered to the ancestors and later shared by the family members.
No Chuseok, however, is complete without songpyeon. These pine-flavored rice cakes are prepared by kneading rice powder into dough with boiling water, and stuffed with sesame, red beans or chestnuts. Koreans, old and young, sit around in their ancestral homes surrounded by their near and dear ones and catch up on each others lives while making songpyeon. Children join in the preparation too, mostly seduced by the taste of the delicious rice cakes.
Over the holidays, most public and private shops are closed for business for five days until Wednesday of next week, and it is expected that approximately 40 million South Koreans will start the long trip to their hometowns to be with family over these holidays or go on overseas or domestic vacations.
This year, Chuseok, the traditional autumn harvest festival, to many people delight, will be extended by an extra two days as the national holiday falls on Monday through to Wednesday following the weekend giving the people of Korea a total of five days of holidays.
With the sudden nationwide exodus, traffic congestions on major roads, expressways, railroad stations and airports can be expected.
Due to the major bustle, Korea Railroad and inter-city bus companies will be increasing their capacity to accommodate the increase in demand, while local and foreign airlines such as Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways and other carriers will add more flights from September 25 to 29 have scheduled additional flights.
