Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving)

So, this past weekend was the biggest holiday of the Korean calendar: Chuseok.

Chuseok often gets compared to western thanksgiving, and for good reason. Chuseok is a huge deal here, everyone went to his home town to register (just kidding, that's a Luke 2 reference). But seriously, Koreans have a strong social obligation to return to their hometown if they are unmarried or to the husband's parents' house if one is married. Therefore, traffic can be a real nightmare during this time. Usually everyone heads south from Seoul, and at the end of the holiday, everyone heads back up to Seoul.

Traffic heading back to Seoul after Chuseok. Traffic heading to Busan
is on the right.

Post-Chuseok traffic heading to Seoul on the right, heading to Mokpo on the left.

Post-Chuseok traffic report on the news. It actually doesn't
look too bad... I live in the city in the middle of the most southwest province.

Chuseok is a time of reflection, thanksgiving, and memory. In eastern culture, ancestors are a big deal, and Chuseok is a time to remember loved ones who have died (because in eastern culture, ancestors are still roaming the Earth in spirit form). Families will make tons of delicious food and prepare a feast table in memory of their ancestors. Then, on the actual Chuseok day, families will hold a solemn ceremony where they bow in a special way (it looks like the same way buddhists bow at temples--face practically on the floor) and maybe say some sort of prayer. Basically, the point is that hopefully by completing such a ritual, one's ancestors will be pleased and bring good fortune and happiness on those giving the offering.

http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_6.jsp?cid=811650 if you're interested
in reading more about Chuseok.

Which leads to an interesting cultural note:

Retailers make a killing at Chuseok. Why? Because if you want to have the most happiness and the best fortune, you'd better be willing to give the best gifts. This is why you can see this in stores:

My friend Winnie took this picture in Homeplus. You can buy these
gift sets for your Chuseok table. Yes, that's right, these apples cost almost $100!!
Luckily though, it's "buy 7, get 1 free"

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I should also mention that my roommate was incredibly generous with his time and helpful to me. Before he left for the weekend, he helped me figure some things out with my bank account and with my cellphone. He's been a real blessing to me here.

My roommate, ChunGook, before he left for his hometown.