Thanksgiving and Valentine's Day in Korea

November 30, 2008

Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving holiday! Korea’s Thanksgiving holiday is called Chuseok. Chuseok is a 3-day holiday, and it falls on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Korean lunar calendar—this year it was September 13 through 15 (the 15th was Chuseok day). This is a time when families traditionally travelled back to their home towns to be with family and to pay their respects to their ancestors. Families are expected to provide gifts and large quantities of food for the ancestors and relatives.

Here is some more information about Chuseok:

Chuseok Foods:

Songpyeon, is one of the traditional chuseok offerings. Songpyeon are rice cakes made by mixing rice flour with hot water to make rice dough. Spoonfuls of dough are filled with new beans, sesame seeds, chestnuts and other ingredients and shaped into semi-circles, or half-moons, then steamed over a layer of pine needles, which infuses the rice cakes with a delicate flavor. Pine needles contain phytoncide, a bactericidal ingredient that accounts not only for the piney scent but also ensures that the food does not go bad too quickly in warm weather. It is customary for families to gather to make songpyeon on the night before Chuseok, the time of year when the moon is at its fullest.

Another Chuseok favorite is taro soup flavored with kelp. Taros are harvested around Chuseok and as they do not store well they are a seasonal specialty. Other dishes reflect the year and region’s harvest, and generally include fish, mushrooms, etc.

Chuseok Activities:

There are all kinds of events and activities during Chuseok. Koreans play neolttwigi, a Korean jumping game, similar to see-sawing. Families also do kang gang sulae, which is a traditional Korean circle dance done at night under the moon. Many Koreans also wear traditional clothing, called hanbok, on Chuseok day.

Pepero Day

In Korea, although there was no official holiday in November, they did celebrate “Pepero Day” on November 11th, a type of “Valentine’s Day.” Peperos are the little chocolate sticks (they sell them in America in grocery stores in the candy aisles, especially in the Asian supermarkets). Because November 11th can be represented as 11/11, some smart Korean confectionary company staff person came up with the idea of marketing chocolate 'sticks' manufactured under the brand name Pepero (빼빼로) on 11/11 and it's been a definite success. On 11/11, people buy boxes of Pepero (some chocolate coated, some chocolate and nut coated and some chocolate filled) to give to their sweethearts, teachers, classmates, bosses, co-workers and even pets. A little before the 'Big Day' shops decorate their windows with hearts and advertise "Give Pepero to the Special People in your Life" (in Korean, of course).

I was surprised when I came to school on 11/11 and many children were giving me boxes of peperos. I had no idea what it was about, they just kept saying “Pepero Day” to me.

--Corrie