Chuseok Customs

On the morning of Chuseok Day, Songpyeon (type of Korean rice cake) and food prepared with the year’s fresh harvest are arranged to give thanks to ancestors through Charye (ancestor memorial service). After Charye, families visit their ancestors’ graves and engage in Beolcho, where weeds around the burial grounds are removed. As the night nears, families and friends enjoy the beautiful view of the full harvest moon and play folk games such as Ganggangsullae (Korean circle dance).



- Charye (ancestor memorial services)

On Chuseok morning, family members gather at their homes to hold memorial services in the honor of their ancestors called Charye. Formal Charye services are held twice a year during Seollal (New Year’s Day) and Chuseok. The difference between the two services is that during Seollal the major representative food is white tteok-guk, a rice cake soup, while during Chuseok the major representative food is freshly harvested rice. After the service, the family members sit down together at the table to enjoy some delicious food to symbolize their blessings.



- Beolcho (removing weeds around the grave) and Seongmyo (visiting ancestral graves)

Visiting ancestral graves during Chuseok is known as ‘Seongmyo’ and during this visit, family members usually cut the weeds that have grown around the graves in the summer season. Taking care of the ancestral graves such as removing weeds is called ‘Beolcho’. This custom is considered a duty and an expression of devotion. On the weekends, about one month prior to the Chuseok holidays, Korea’s highways become extremely congested with families visiting their ancestral graves to fulfill their ancestral duties.



- Ganggangsullae (Korean circle dance)

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.