How Do Koreans Spend Chuseok These Days?

In the previous posts, we discussed

1) What Chuseok is and
2) How Koreans traditionally spend Chuseok.

✅ Today, we’ll introduce three types of 
how Koreans these days usually spend Chuseok.
It’s somewhat similar, but different. ????

1) Home Alone

Some people who live alone choose to stay at home, rather than visit their families.

A few possible reasons:

– Need time alone to recharge from a hectic work life
– Don’t want to answer to their relatives’ personal questions
– Avoid any risk of getting or spreading COVID-19

2) Bon voyage

Many families use this opportunity to travel!

Taking a few more days off from work, you can travel for more than a week. In this case, families usually visit their ancestors’ graveyard before the holiday or use agencies that take care of the graveyard instead (e.g., weed removal services).

This year’s number of overseas travel surged because it was the first Chuseok holiday after the government lifted the COVID regulations. The most visited countries in this Chuseok holiday were Vietnam and Turkey.

Most Common Types of Burial Options

Cremation / Memorial Park

The most frequently used type. It’s a place where the urns after cremation are stored. The family puts photos, flowers, or things that bring memory of the deceased inside the storage.

Woodland or natural burial

Korea’s natural burial returns a body to the earth by burying the ashes under a designated tree or grass. You have to use a biodegradable urn if needed. Over time, people are starting to prefer this option as it’s more eco-friendly.

In-ground burial

The most traditional, yet the most labor-intensive form of burial. The descendants need to constantly take care of the graveyard that’s located in the middle of the mountain. There are agencies that take care of all these but it costs some money.

3) Practicality First

Chuseok related food is sold out at the market.

Some families stick with the tradition, but in a more practical way.

– Instead of cooking all the Chuseok food for an ancestral rite, which takes a lot of time and effort,
???? they buy them from the market.

– Instead of eating at home,
???? they go out to eat at a fancy restaurant so that everyone can enjoy the time together.

– Instead of hiking up the mountain to go to the graveyard,
???? they use agencies to take care of weeding and keep the respect and gratitude of the ancestors in their heart.

???? Questions for UoH Friends :

✔️ Which type would you choose if you were to spend Chuseok holiday in Korea? And why