What to do and see during Chuseok holidays 2022

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2 years ago

What to do and see during Chuseok holidays 2022

An array of cultural and arts events is scheduled during this year’s Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) holiday period (Sept. 9-12).

The following are Korea.net’s picks for events that foreign nationals will likely enjoy.

Namsangol Hanok Village in Seoul’s Jung-gu District will offer programs such as making songpyeon (traditional rice cakes) and arrows. Unhyeongung, a royal residence in the city’s Jongno-gu District, will allow visitors to try the games jegichagi (kicking a shuttlecock) and ssangnyuk (a form of chess) and make cheongsachorong, or traditional lanterns typically made by joining red and blue silk shades.

Ganggangsullae is a traditional game played on Chuseok under a full moon. Several people gather, hold hands and make a circle. (National Folk Museum of Korea)

The Seoul Museum of Craft Art offers programs for making turtles during the Chuseok period.

Visitors to Donuimun Museum Village can make clocks on traditional masks, Hanji (traditional paper) and knotted art. A flea market there will run from Sept. 11-12.

Seoul Museum of History on Sept. 10 will hold a pungmulnori (rural folk percussion) performance to wish for an abundant harvest and ward off evil spirits.

Culture Tank in Seoul’s Mapo-gu District will hold a circus cabaret every night during the Chuseok period from 8 p.m. to midnight. Visitors can watch for free 12 circus performances by troupes from both home and abroad.

Songpyeon is a traditional rice cake that is customarily eaten during Chuseok. It is made by kneading non-glutinous rice powder with water, putting unripe beans, sesame, chestnuts, jujubes, adzuki bean paste or mung bean paste and folding it in a half-moon shape. (Korea.net DB)

The event “Chuseok Came to Korean Folk Village” will be held at the Korean Folk Village in Giheung-gu District of Yongin, Gyeonggi-do Province. The programs include making songpyeon or holding a charye (ancestral ritual) while wearing Hanbok (traditional clothes).

The Seoul palaces of Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, Changgyeonggung and Deoksugung, Jongmyo Shrine and Royal Tombs will be open throughout the holiday period with free admission. Visiting the shrine normally requires a reservation but none is required for the duration of the holiday.

Seoul Sky, an observatory at Lotte World Tower, from Sept. 10-12 holds a “full moon tour” in which visitors can observe the full moon and stars from an outdoor terrace on the 120th floor from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. and hear explanations on constellations. (Seoul Sky)

Amusement parks are also holding Chuseok-themed programs. Everland in Yongin, Gyeonggi-do Province, will host seven traditional games including yunnori (a traditional board game) and jegichagi.

Everland also offers a discount for foreign nationals over the holiday. Regular adult admission is KRW 64,000 but this falls to KRW 38,000 if foreign visitors show their IDs.

Lotte World in Seoul’s Songpa-gu District will offer traditional performing arts and a program of grinding coffee with a millstone. Seoul Sky, an observatory at Lotte World Tower, holds a “full moon tour” from Sept. 10-12, allowing viewing of the full moon and stars from an outdoor terrace on the 120th floor from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. and hearing explanations on constellations.

For a safe and convenient holiday, the Seoul Metropolitan Government from Sept. 11-12 will extend the operation of subways and city buses to 2 a.m.

Source: Korea.net