Chuseok for non-Koreans: How to spend the holiday with all the cheer, none of the traffic or kitchen drudgery

When Chuseok arrives, tens of millions head home to family.

For centuries, Korea’s harvest holiday has been marked by sharing the season’s bounty, honoring ancestors and gathering with family.

While the way families observe the holiday has evolved over generations, many of those customs endure, helping make Chuseok one of Korea’s most meaningful occasions.

But you don’t need a Korean hometown or Korean heritage to spend the holiday steeped in Chuseok traditions. So why not celebrate as the locals do — but with a spin of your own?

Here is a guide to making Chuseok your own in Seoul, following the rhythm of a traditional Chuseok day. From morning rituals to an evening under the full moon, it will hardly be so different from locals' one. Best of all, you can do it without getting stuck in holiday traffic.

Early morning: Pay respects to the past

Chuseok is, in part, about remembering those who came before. For some families, that means beginning Chuseok by visiting seongmyo, ancestral graves, to pay respects and tend to the grounds.

But if your ancestors are nowhere near Korea, spend the morning with some royal ones instead.

Seoul and its surrounding areas are home to several royal tombs from the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). Lucky for you, 17 Joseon royal tomb sites, including five in Seoul, will be open free of charge from Thursday to Sunday to mark Chuseok.

In Seongbuk District, northern Seoul, is Jeongneung Royal Tomb, where Queen Sindeok (1356–1396), the second wife of King Taejo, founder of the Joseon Dynasty, is buried. Part of the Unesco World Heritage-listed Royal Tombs of the Joseon era, it offers a look into Korean history and the country’s tradition of honoring ancestors, while its wooded grounds near Mount Bukhan provide a quiet escape from the city.

Another option is Taereung and Gangneung Royal Tombs in Nowon District. Taereung is the resting place of Queen Munjeong (1501–1565), while her son King Myeongjong (1545–1567) and his wife Queen Insun (1532–1575) are buried at Gangneung.

Other Joseon royal tombs in Seoul include Uireung in Seongbuk District and Heolleung and Illeung in Seocho District.

Or venture just beyond Seoul to Seooreung in Goyang, Gyeonggi. Spanning some 1.87 square kilometers (0.72 square miles), the sprawling Seooreung complex contains five royal tombs while it offers plenty of room for a long autumn walk.

Dress for the occasion

Chuseok is not just about what is on the table. 

There is also Chuseokbim, the tradition of putting on new clothes for the holiday. Traditionally, that meant a brand-new hanbok (traditional attire).

Many children still dress up in hanbok during Chuseok. 

Buying a new hanbok for one day might be excessive. Renting one is much easier. And there is no better place to wear one than at the palace.

Hanboknam and Hanbok Sonyeo near Gyeongbok Palace are among the rental shops that remain open over the holiday. Pick out a look and spend the afternoon strolling through one of Seoul’s royal palaces or the hanok-lined streets of Bukchon.

Better yet, Seoul’s four major royal palaces — Gyeongbok, Changdeok, Changgyeong and Deoksu — will offer free admission during the Chuseok holiday. Gyeongbok and Changdeok palaces are open until 6 p.m., while Changgyeong and Deoksu palaces stay open until 9 p.m., giving late starters plenty of time to show off their Chuseok look.

There is more to do at the palaces than simply stroll around in hanbok. At Gyeongbok Palace, visitors can watch the changing of the royal guard at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., guard duty ceremonies at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. and a royal guard patrol at 3 p.m., all without reservations.

Next up: the feast

One of Chuseok’s best-known traditions is charye, an ancestral rite in which an elaborate spread of food is arranged on a table, and respects are paid to ancestors.

The spread can include jeon, or panfried delicacies, namul (seasoned vegetables), fruit, meat, fish and more. Once the rite is over, families traditionally share the food together. 

Recreating such an elaborate spread yourself means plenty of chopping, frying and washing up, not to mention the grocery bill. But you can still get a taste of the charye table without making one yourself at hanjeongsik restaurants, which serve traditional Korean full-course meals with rice, soup and an assortment of banchan, or side dishes.

For a hearty spread at a more modest price, Gamasot Bapsang's Guui branch serves a table created by a Korean cuisine master. For 23,000 won ($16) per person, the Jeolla-style meal comes with rice cooked in a traditional cauldron and 13 dishes, including boiled pork wraps, five-colored japchae noodles, soy-marinated stone crab, fried eggplant, three seasonal namul dishes and doenjang jjigae.

Chaeum Restaurant in Myeongdong offers a more traditional hansik spread starting in the 20,000-won range. Japchae, namul, bulgogi and an assortment of other side dishes crowd the table around the main dish, giving you some of the abundance of a holiday table without having to cook any of it yourself.

Hangaram in Jung District, central Seoul, is another option for those after the classic Korean combination with a generous assortment of banchan, while Seolgaon near Gwanghwamun Square in Jongno District offers a fancier take on a Korean meal with a full-course menu.

Don't forget the songpyeon

By now, you have covered most of the big traditions. But there is one thing that simply cannot be left off a Chuseok itinerary: eating songpyeon.

The half-moon-shaped rice cakes are practically synonymous with the holiday, though today they come in all sorts of shapes and designs. Some families make them together at home; others simply pick up a box from a rice cake shop.

You can do either.

Online rice cake store Chonggak’s Ddeok offers a simple kit for around 15,000 won, while fancier versions come with five colors of rice flour and stamps for pressing decorative patterns into the cakes.

If even that sounds like too much work, or the weather is simply too nice to waste time making one at home, head straight to cafes offering photogenic songpyeon.

Dongbyungsangryun in Jongno District, central Seoul, offers a range of traditional Korean rice cakes, including songpyeon.

And since Chuseok is a harvest festival, don't stop there. Freshly harvested rice and seasonal fruit have long been part of celebrating the season’s bounty. Head to a traditional market, pick out whatever looks best from the autumn harvest and have a little something fresh for yourself. 

Let the games begin

Families have to stay together for hours, sometimes even for a few days, during the Chuseok holiday. What keeps a family gathering lively? Yutnori.

Yutnori is one of Korea’s best-known traditional games and a familiar sight during major holidays. Players split into two or more sides and race pieces around a board based on the results of four wooden sticks tossed into the air.

Families sometimes raise the stakes with a little money or, perhaps more dangerously, chores for the losers. Either way, it does not take long for everyone's competitive side to emerge.

The problem with an actual board is you need someone to play against. Online, an AI opponent is always ready.

Omokboard offers an online version of yutnori where you can challenge AI or even go head-to-head with a friend. Yutnori is not the only game in town.

Ssireum, or Korean wrestling; jegichagi, a game similar to hacky sack; and other folk games have long been enjoyed during Korean holidays and festivals.

The National Folk Museum of Korea is hosting a range of traditional activities over the holiday weekend, including ssireum experiences, jegichagi, horseback riding, arrow throwing, top spinning and rubber-shoe throwing.

Make a wish under the Chuseok moon

After a full day, look up.

Chuseok falls on the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, making the full moon one of the holiday’s most recognizable sights.

Dalmaji, or moon viewing, has long been associated with Chuseok, with people traditionally looking up at the bright moon and making wishes. Another custom associated with moon viewing is ganggangsullae, a traditional circle dance performed beneath the full moon.

For your own dalmaji, head to Dalmajibong Park in Seongdong District, a hill whose name literally means “moon-greeting peak” and where people traditionally gathered to welcome the full moon and make wishes.

Other spots with wide-open views include Mount Eungbong, Mount Namsan and Mount Naksan, or keep things easy with a nighttime stroll along the Han River. 

Or you could ride one. At Yeouido Park in Yeongdeungpo District, western Seoul, is Seouldal, a giant tethered helium balloon shaped like a full moon. Through the end of October, Friday and Saturday operations have been extended by an hour to 11 p.m. Tickets can be booked online or purchased on site.

For Chuseok, the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Seoul Tourism Organization are also running an interactive event at the site from Thursday through Oct. 5.

From Thursday to Sunday, visitors can try traditional games including a giant yutnori set, add their wishes to a Chuseok wish tree and take part in a dice game. A photo zone featuring giant moon installations measuring 3 and 2 meters in diameter will also let visitors capture Seouldal in the sky and another full moon on the ground in a single shot.

Wherever you end up, find the moon and make a wish. And with that, you’ve made a very Korean Chuseok of your own. 

BY WOO JI-WON [[email protected]]