The countdown has begun – only 322 days to go before World Youth Day (WYD) in Seoul winds up. So there’s no time to be lost in educating readers of The Catholic Weekly about Korean culture.
And the best way to start is with our food.
Participants in WYD are attending at a great time, because at that time of year we are gearing up for Chuseok, Korea’s major harvest festival, often called Korea’s Thanksgiving Day. The 15th of September will be Chuseok Day in 2027.
We celebrate it in September every year over three days. This year it runs from 24 to 26 September. Families and relatives gather to enjoy food and reconnect. They visit ancestral graves where they clean up the weeds and perform memorial rituals for another successful year of harvest.
Gratitude to those who have gone before us is very important in our culture. A traditional ancestral memorial service honouring our ancestors is an important part of the whole feast day. Next comes the making of rice cakes in the shape of half-moons. We call them songpyeon.
Why a half moon? Well, our ancestors believed that a full moon had already reached its peak and was destined to wane, while a waxing half-moon was growing to plenitude. So the songpyeon is regarded as a sign of abundance and prosperity.
Another highlight of Chuseok is eating and sharing. We each take a plate as we sit around a big table and tuck into an unending series of side dishes, the banchan.
Culturally, Koreans love sharing food. Of course we care about how it tastes, but more important is spending time with friends and the people we love. Families and relatives will be coming in and out from the city to visit the elderly parents who usually live in rural areas.
The journey itself is a time of family reconnection and paying respect to the ancestors who had already passed way.
Similarly, when we attend Mass we remember the passion of Christ and give thanks to our Lord with the celebration of the Eucharist. Christian customs and traditional Korean customs have many similarities. The idea of sitting alone in a restaurant and doomscrolling while you eat would horrify traditional Koreans.
I’m reminded of a story that I was told as a child about the difference between heaven and hell. At the pearly gates new residents in both places are given yard-long chopsticks.
Downstairs, mealtimes are nightmarish, filled with screams of frustration and rage as people try to eat their rice with those gigantic chopsticks.
Upstairs, meals are filled with laughter and good cheer as people reach across the table with the chopsticks and feed their friends. We share meals when we move into a new home or when we start a new business.
When we visit families, relatives and friends, we will never walk in empty-handed as a sign of thanks and gratitude. A meal is the best way to catch up with old friends.
Pilgrims to WYD in Seoul would be well advised to pack some Aussie confectioneries to share with people in Korea. And since we’re focused on WYD in Seoul, I am reminded of how Jesus shared his bread and fish. Sharing a meal is deeply Korean and deeply Christian.
Happy Chuseok!
