Chuseok

The end of September marked the changing of the season and also Korean Thanksgiving: 추석 (Chuseok). At this time, Koreans flock together to their hometowns to visit family and partake in the harvest time traditions. While the main traditions are more or less the same across the country, each family participates a little differently. For me, this weekend was about going to my roommate's house with our American friend Susannah and having a relaxing weekend full of eating food.

Note: the pictures in this post are courtesy of my ever-lovely friend Susannah. Also, this may be a bit of a photo-dump.

After arriving in a beautiful suburb of Seoul, we went to 노량진수잔시장 (Noryangjin Fish Market), an extremely large fish market located in Seoul.

                                   



After hearing stories and watching videos of people eating still-moving squid, Susannah was determined to try it.

                                  

Not pictured: our squeamish game faces, ready to eat the squid.

We spent some time walking around the market and taking in all the live seafood swimming around in tanks, flopping around in buckets, and trying to escape capture.

Crawl, Crabby, crawl!

In addition to the squid, we had a delicious meal of fish head soup, raw fish, and cooked shrimp. 

This guy sold us our seafood feast and this lady took us to a restaurant and prepared our meal.

The market was amazing and there was so much to see. I would love to go back or at least to a different fish market.

Yes, it was still alive!

Susannah, me, and my roommate.

The next day was the day before Chuseok. Like families in America, it involved preparing food for the big holiday event. We went to my roommate's aunt's house to cook (and eat!) some traditional and delicious food. Her aunt's house was amazing. It was huge, gorgeous, and spotless.

The backyard was open and beautiful. It was a perfect clear day with a great view.

Inside one of the rooms, there was a stunning lacquer with pearl inlay cabinet/storage area.

                                      


                                      

After the house tour, we made our way to the kitchen, where preparations were well underway...on the floor.

                                                           

Roommate and her mom

                                    

Turns out, this is a fantastic set-up: there's much more room to work and it is more convenient for everybody (unless you have to get to the sink, in which case, let's hope you can hop).

We made some 전 (jeon), a traditional Korean pancake. They can be made with almost any ingredient you can imagine: seafood, meat, vegetables, you name it. We got to eat...I mean make... two types: one with seafood and green onions, and one just plain mung bean pancake. They were both delicious and super easy to do. Simply pour out a ladle-full of batter onto your skillet and when it looks ready to flip, flip!

Susannah and I also breaded some fish fillets, which were later coated in egg and fried in a pan.

                                    


송편 (songpyeon) is a traditional Chuseok food. It is made of 떡(tteok), a glutinous rice. Each color is a different flavor and each is filled with something different. Usually, the songpyeon are filled with chestnut or sugar. One of my professors told us a story about his childhood, when he and his sister would poke small holes in the songpyeon to check inside for the flavor before committing to eating one. Songpyeon are easy to make. You pinch off a small amount of tteok, roll it into a ball in your hands, make a little bowl, add filling, and pinch it shut. After many have been prepared, the balls (or more traditional half-moons) are steamed in a bed of pine needles. Almost magically, they become tasty little balls of rice and sugar.

The next day was Chuseok. For this, we went to another aunt's house and were greeted by a beautiful wide spread for the day.

The young copule of the family wore 한복 (hanbok), the traditional Korean dress.

                                     

There was a massive amount of food prepared and laid out for the ancestors.

                                     

                                     

                                     

Celebrations started with a well-practiced routine of offering food, drink, and respect to the elders and ancestors.

After each family member had paid their respects, we ate what felt like enough food to feed an army. Jeon, songpyeon, galbi, seafood soup, and so much more. And after we ate and were full to the point of bursting, like any good Korean family meal, out came the fruit. Giant apples and pear. Fresh, juicy peaches and grapes. It truly was a feast. 

Once we had finished eating, Susannah, my roommate, and I went to a palace to walk around. It was a beautiful day outside and many people were out enjoying the holiday, good weather, and free admission to the palace. The name of this palace is 창덕궁 (Changdeok Palace). One of the five grand palaces, it was built in 1405 as a secondary home to King Taejong in the Joseon Dynasty. Like the other Korean palaces, it was destroyed in the early to mid 1900s during the Japanese occupation. In 1991, reconstruction began and is still underway. 

Throne room

There were many families out with their children dressed in hanbok. This little girl was so adorable, everyone stopped the family to ask for a picture.

These girls were helping explain to people about Korean traditions and traditional dress. 

Some more traditional costume

Susannah, my roommate, and their shenanigans

After the palace, we walked to Insadong, a wonderful area of Seoul with many little coffee shops, restaurants, and touristy things to buy. There was a performance by a group with drums and other percussion instruments. It was amazing to watch them amble down the main street and stop and perform.

Many people stopped to watch

It was a long and exhausting day. For everybody. 

Gotta love Korean-style subway riding

Overall, Chuseok was an amazing experience full of tradition, culture, and a seemingly endless amount of food. I am go grateful to have been invited into my roommate's home to experience this packed weekend of fun. It truly was an adventure that I will remember fondly for the rest of my life.

 And for those of you back home who keep asking me if I've learned Gangnam Style....yes I have!

The Games

고연전 (Go Yun Jun). The most epic event I have ever witnessed. 

Every year, Korea University competes in five sports against their rival university: Yonsei University. They compete for two long, exhausting, but exhilarating days in baseball, basketball, ice hockey, rugby, and soccer (or proper football, as I like to call it). However, if you win one match, you don't actually win win; you have to win three of the five matches to win the whole games. And if you do...a most epic party follows.


Because the games are held near Anam  (안암), near the Seoul campus of Korea University and Yonsei University, my friends and I went early and stayed at this hostel in Itaewon (이태원) for the weekend. The hostel was amazing. The staff spoke perfect English and the whole place felt clean and safe. There is an area inside the first door for you to take off your shoes and don slippers. Inside the next door is the little office, common area, and access to the bathrooms and kitchen/laundry, as well as the rooms. Each guest is provided a towel, pillow, clean bedsheets and pillow case, and wifi access. Each room is a bit different: ours had six beds, lockable cupboards for your luggage, and A/C. The hostel can be a bit of a challenge to find, if you're not used to looking up on the buildings to see what's on other floors. But it is a piece of cake to get to: from Itaewon Station (이태원역) just walk five, maybe ten minutes and look up. It's on the fourth floor of a building across from a Woori Bank and in the same building as a PC 방 and some sort of seafood restaurant. Walk up four flights of stairs and you're there! (Life pro tip: don't bring a super heavy suitcase)

The ever-lovely Susannah.

To get from here to the games is fairly easy, too. You'll need a T-Money card and the ability to read a subway map. If you don't already know, a T-Money card is a card the size of a regular credit card but it's used to pay for transportation: subways, buses, and taxis. You can buy them almost anywhere and there are several stations around the subways stations to reload your T-Money card (with directions in English for those not confident in Korean!). If by this point in your study abroad you are lucky enough to have a smartphone of any sort, I highly recommend you get one of these apps: LG Metro (this one is in Korean, so if you can read/type, you'll be fine) and/or Seoul Subway (this one is in English). Both have maps of the subway lines and a nifty feature that allows you to search for both the destination and arrival stations. They then proceed to tell you exactly how to get from point A to point B. 

The opening ceremony and baseball game took place in the Sports Complex, near the Olympic Stadium. We arrived early and there was still a massive line of people waiting to get into the complex, but there was music blasting and people entertaining, so the wait didn't feel as long. 

                           

In addition to entertainment, we were given breakfast: some milk and some sort of bread. Delicious, but not exactly the kind of nutritious meal you would think would last you all day through the games, but strangely, you forget your hunger as you watch the games. Well, maybe "watch" is the wrong word. "Experience" fits a bit better. 

Part of the opening ceremony. Each school shows off their mad marching and flag skills. 

See those people all the way down on the baseball field? Those are cheerleaders. And not like American football cheerleaders. These students LEAD the CHEERS you do ALL DAY LONG. Each game is accompanied by cheers in place of any sort of commentary. It is almost impossible to sit still (or sit at all) during these games. You are constantly up and jumping, or bowing, or singing, or screaming; you do as your cheerleaders do and it is an intense several hours, but totally worth every second of it. The next Monday, you could tell who had been to the games just by noticing who had bruises on the backs of their calves or the front of their shins. Those were well-won bruises from all the hardcore cheering. All the Korea University students wear the iconic red/crimson color and all the Yonsei University students wear their candid blue.

Not my video. Borrowed from youtube user schmoo666: (warning loud cheering)

Before the baseball game was over, I left to go experience the hockey match. And of course, spent the whole game cheering. This time, however, we were much closer to the cheerleaders and could see them announce each cheer. The cheering was pretty intense but the game a little less so. By the end of day one, Korea University had won baseball and basketball but lost hockey. 

The next day, I got geared up for some rugby and soccer. The two biggest matches of the game are basketball and soccer. As you can see, the teams went all out for the games. You could feel every firework.

At the end of the rugby match, Korea University had lost again. So now the schools were tied 2-2. Whoever won the football match would win the games and the winning school would be plied with free(ish) food and liquor. The soccer game was not as intense as an EPL match but it was still fun to watch. It was a bit of a challenge to focus on the game while cheering but I did manage to catch the goals from Korea University. After the 90 minutes and added time were up, students from both teams flooded onto the pitch. It was a winning day for Korea University and the party started immediately.  

Warning: extremely loud volume. Also not my video, borrowed from youtube user wonderrrgirl0606

Back to my group!

After the on-pitch celebrations, everyone realized they were starving, so we walked to another part of the city for some samgyeopsal (삼겹살). A couple hours later, the partying was in full swing back in Anam. This was the main street for the free food and booze. It was absolutely packed. Food was super cheap for the Korea University students and free soju was to be had if you asked the senior students super nicely, cheering for your drink. 

Overall, it was a fantastic time, a complete blast and I'm sad it was only a once-a-year event. The cheers were loud, energetic, and catchy. I've gotten to know a few of them quite well and it would impress my Korean friends that I had quickly mastered the dances for the songs. It was such a wonderful event and, despite the exhaustion and near deafness, I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.