Chuseok 추석

Over the past week and a half, I have been fortunate enough to get to celebrate Chuseok (추석) with my host family. Chuseok is basically Korean Thanksgiving. It is celebrated at harvest time, where the family all gets together, they do their ancestral rituals then they eat a big meal. But beyond that, there are many other traditions and things that go along with it.

The festivities began for me on Saturday. Another Fulbrighter's host mom invited us all to an event at the Children's Library. Going into it, I had no clue what was going to happen or why I was there. All I knew was I was getting to wear hanbok(한복). This is the traditional Korean clothing. I had gotten to try on some previously, during orientation, but this was completely different. The hanbok that I got to wear was my size and it had so many more components. It was beautiful. In addition to the dress and jacket part, I also had a full petticoat complete with a hoop skirt as well as pants to wear underneath everything. It was also so beautiful. I enjoyed wearing it so much. The event turned out to be an event for kids where they come and make songpyeon (송편). Songpyeon is a rice cake that is made during Chuseok. It was a lot of fun, and I got to do it with other Fulbrighters, so that is always great. There was also more to the even than just making the songpyeon. The governor of Hwacheon came and read the children a story, and then there was a magic show at the end. It was a lot of fun, even as an adult.

Sunday was filled with mostly relaxation (for me at least). My host mom was busy making all of the different dishes that they eat during Chuseok. The house smelled good all day.
Because of the holiday, I didn't have school Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday. The actual day for Chuseok, however, was on Monday. That was when my host dad's parents and sisters came over to the house. They did their ancestral ritual first, at about 8:30am, then we had our big meal, at about 9:30am. I was kinda surprised how early everyone ate this huge meal.

We spent a few hours afterwards just hanging out, and then we went on this beautiful bike ride. It was so much fun. And I was surprised at how easy it was for me. When we got back to the house, the whole family ended up playing badminton in front of the house. Let's just say, I was ready for bed that night.

Tuesday was uneventful. I took a bus to Chuncheon to go shopping for some things that I needed and it was actually really nice. I was the first time that I really went somewhere and did something completely on my own. I even got to go to McDonald's. Usually, I don't eat McDonald's, even at home, but for some reason, I really wanted to go. I ended up getting some of my favourites (instead of being adventurous and trying a Korean burger) but it was what I needed. I even tried the little soft served ice cream cones for 700 won ($0.50). Wednesday was the last day of my break and it was spent well. I had previously offered to cook spaghetti for them, and they took me to the store to get the ingredients. It turned out so well. The spaghetti tasted delicious and the homemade garlic bread was a little overcooked but still good. My youngest host brother didn't even eat the spaghetti, he just ate the bread. In the end, the bowl was empty and my host family was happy. That's all I could ask for.

This holiday may be new and I still may not know what I'm supposed to do, but I enjoyed being able to have the experience.

Labor Day Weekend in Jeongseon

Somehow I ended up getting to do more in South Korea for Labor Day weekend than I ever do while at home. When I first arrived, my host mom asked me if I liked waterparks and if I had a bathing suit, which made me very glad I had bought a conservative bathing suit before I left the states. The vacation, however, ended up way more than just a waterpark and gave me a weekend of adventures and new experiences.

Saturday

So we left home on Saturday morning and met up with the other family we were going to be travelling with at a rest stop. Let the three-hour drive commence. After stopping at a rest stop for lunch, we ended up at our destination by mid-afternoon. Our trip started in Jeongseon (정선). We went to a museum that was all about the history of the area, and then the real fun began. We took a monorail up the mountain, which gave us a beautiful view of the area, to a Hwaamdonggul cave entrance. So the cave had two parts. The first part was all about the history of gold mining in the area and the second part was more cutesy have animated goblins and stuff, but the beauty of the cave was magnificent. At one point you go into this room that is huge and you are surrounded by these natural rock creations. It was very cold and very wet, but it was so worth it. Even the stairs. There were probably 15 or 20 flights of stairs we had to walk down at one point. We had a nice Korean dinner that night where we sat on the floor. Then we went to the condo, where we ate chicken and watched Korea's triumph over Japan in the Asian Games final soccer game. That night, I had my first experience sleeping on a mat on the floor.

Sunday

The second day of the trip was so much fun. I didn't get any picture because I was at a waterpark with my host family. I convinced the kids to go on the waterslides with me, where they had so much fun, and we swam in the lazy river and a wave pool. I was so exhausted by the end of the day. It was so much fun though. I loved everything about the day. It was perfect. That night we went out for dinner again. This time we had beef, and went back to the condo, eating more chicken and talking well into the night (or listening in my case since I don't speak Korean...yet).
The scenery of the trip was hard to beat. We spent so much time going up and down in the mountains that there were too many really beautiful sights of nature.

Monday

Memorial to Danjong of Joseon in place of where his house used to stand. 

On Monday, we made our way home. But that didn't stop the adventure. On the way, we stopped at Yeongwol County and visited the historical site where the 6th King of the Joseon Dynasty was exiled to by his uncle and later executed. It was a piece of Korean history that I didn't know about and I was very happy that my host family wanted to share it with me. After that, we headed back, stopping to eat lunch in a traditional Korean market and making the long journey home.

This was such a great way to spend time with my host family as well as learn more about Korea and all it has to offer. I hope that I get to take more trips like this in the future around Korea. It has so much to offer and with such little time here, I want to learn it all.