On Chuseok morning, families travel to the graves of their ancestors to honor them by pulling weeds and cleaning around their graves.
A few of my older female students showed me a circle dance in class on Wednesday, which is called "ganggangsullae." The Korean circle dance actually has a very cool history:
"Mothers and daughters dressed in hanbok (traditional Korean dress) gather around in a circle, holding hands, and sing together. This dance originated from the Joseon Dynasty during the Japanese invasion when the Korean army dressed Korean mothers and daughters in military uniforms and had them circle a mountain peak to make the Japanese think the Korean military was greater in number than it actually was. Through this strategy, the Koreans were eventually able to defeat the Japanese. " (visitkorea.or.kr)
Songpyeon is the official snack of Chuseok. It is a rice cake dish which is steamed in pine needles. Songpyeon was served with lunch each day last week. I feel bad because my coworkers and I might not have been appreciative enough of the festive snack because we could not see past the pine needles. It's hard to get excited about a snack that looks and smells like potpourri. I actually liked it when I finally tried it. And I did not realize that it was such an important dish. I just thought the school's cook had been watching too much Iron Chef. (Today's secret ingredient is...............A PINE TREE!) Then I was completely shocked to see how much the students loved the songpyeon. They were so excited when I brought it into the classroom. I had to do a double take to see if I had accidentally grabbed a tray of cupcakes instead. Nope. It was songpyeon, and as far as my students were concerned, way better than cupcakes.
On Thursday, we celebrated Chuseok at School, and everyone, myself included, dressed in Hanboks and played traditional Korean games. It's no secret that I love to play dress-up, and now I want to have my very own hanbok. I will say this, however. Hanboks are probably the most unflattering dresses ever designed. Give me a kimono over a hanbok on a fashion runway anyday!
One of my favorite actresses, Sandra Oh, tried to pull off an updated version of the hanbok last year, but was jeered tremendously by fashion critics. I, personally, like it. Can my hanbok look like this for Seollal (Korean New Year)?
Chuseok ends with wishing on the full moon that night. I'm still not letting go of my wish for a dryer!!!
즐거운 추석 보내세요
(Have a happy Chuseok!)
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