Korean family and Chuseok (추석)

On Sunday morning I woke up after a good night sleep. I was staying in Sangwon's room which had a bar across the top of the door. I remember seeing it the night before but in the morning I must have forgotten cause I walked right into it. lol One disadvantage for me here in Korea is that everything is shorter than me. Girls, doors and some gates in the subways. lol Sometimes it is nice being tall but other times it's annoying. The good thing is I can see everything around me sometimes from very far away cause there's nobody in the way, lol.

After spending a day with Sangwon and his family in Dangjin, we drove to Incheon to visit their relatives. (추석) Chuseok is similar to Thanksgiving in America. However, there are many differences. The reason I say it is similar is because it is a time for getting together with family and eating lots of food. Thanksgiving is about remembering the feast of the Pilgrims and Indians shared in 1621. It is also about giving thanks to God for having a good harvest for the year.
However, Chuseok is about remembering and honoring your ancestors. A feast usually consists of several dishes. The one side dish always served at Chuseok is songpyeon. I got to experience being in Sangwon’s family for a weekend so I made songpyeon. It was very interesting. Songpyeon is a type of rice cake. There is a proverb in Korea, that if you make songpyeon beautifully, you will have a beautiful daughter. Sangwon’s father or aboji (아보지) showed me how to make rice cake which was great. It wasn’t too hard after I got some practice.

Chuseok consisted of what it seemed like one meal after another, which I loved. First we had a great feast at a restaurant which we had many Korean delicacies. Then after we visited Sangwon’s uncle on his father’s side in Songdo, it’s the international business district. He was very nice and had a huge apartment in the center of the city. There was a city view from his apartment window. And there was a fridge that went almost to the ceiling which I’ve never seen before, lol.

Anyways, after visiting them, we headed to his father’s parents house. We of course had another meal but this time with traditional dishes. All were delicious. I’m still trying to remember all of the dish names. After eating at his grandparent’s house, we relaxed a bit and then went to his uncle’s house on his mother’s side. This time it was more snacks that we ate but we also ate songpyeon. I met a couple of his cousins and we drank makgeoli together. Makgeoli (막걸리) is a traditional Korean wine (alcohol) made from rice. There are some variations to this like the honey makgeoli which has honey added to the original taste for more flavor.

Now you’re probably wondering where I slept right? Well the truth is I stayed with my friend in his tiny apartment in Incheon next to the subway station. Now this is a one room apartment, for one person. So this is a small room that has everything jammed into one. I mean the bathroom is so small there is no room to take shower it’s basically the sink, lol. It was interesting nonetheless. I seemed to enjoy being cramped in his apartment though. He offered me his bed so I didn’t sleep on the floor. The last day in Incheon we all drove to a few islands located on the coast of Incheon. One was called Muuido and the other was Shilmido. I didn’t know this but Shilmido used to be a place for military training. It’s what my friend told me. It was great though to see something new and exciting.

After a day on the islands, Sangwon and I met a friend in Incheon. It was a friend I had met at Ball State, Milal. We met and went to a traditional Korean drinking room. Now these are really neat if you get the chance to go because it’s basically a private room for you and your friends to talk,drink and eat food. The rooms are separate and have a door to each which was a little different than I was used to but very interesting. It was cool to visit some friends I had met in Muncie the previous year. It was definitely great weekend. I got a chance to experience a traditional Korean holiday with a family. Now that’s what I call immersing oneself in a culture.