On Chuseok and Thanksgiving

Next Monday marks the Chuseok holiday in Korea. I experienced my first Chuseok (in very limited fashion) about 2 months into my stay here and it was described to me by many Korean co-workers as the "Korean Thanksgiving." I suppose this is an apt comparison in some senses. Both Chuseok and Thanksgiving in the United States have their origins as harvest festivals. Additionally, both are important family holidays and very busy travel seasons. Of course, they have their differences too (for example, timing - this year, Chuseok falls on September 12th and Thanksgiving on November 24th). I'm not going to spend much time outlining their similarities and differences in this post, though (part of this is due to the fact that I don't know enough about Chuseok to do so).

Every year, Thanksgiving is a time when people stop and reflect on the things in their lives for which they are thankful. It is a time for "giving thanks," which is where the name of the holiday originates from. Being in a foreign country, I often find that such reflection leads me to think about what I also miss (oddly enough, Thanksgiving is one of the few American holidays I actually miss). The list of things I miss is both long and boring, so I'll focus on a few things about Thanksgiving I miss.

Of course, I miss spending time my family. The vast majority of my Korean friends will be spending the holiday with their families while I will be here in Seoul, away from mine. Actually, being in Seoul during the Chuseok holiday isn't so bad.  It so empty that at times, certain areas have felt like a ghost town. In the 6 years I've lived in Korea, I've only been home once, so I guess some might conclude that I don't actually miss them that much, but this time of year definitely intensifies my desire to see my family.

I miss the food. Traditionally, the big food item for Thanksgiving is a baked or roasted turkey.  Growing up, I wasn't a huge fan of turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, or many of the other staples of Thanksgiving.  It wasn't until I came here that I started to appreciate, and even crave those foods.  Last year, I was lucky enough to have a semi-traditional Thanksgiving (albeit on Canadian Thanksgiving day) where we cooked a Turducken, which is a chicken, stuffed inside a duck, stuffed inside a turkey (it is delicious and I highly recommend it), but otherwise, I have been sans-turkey for 6 years.

I miss the shopping (those who know me well may be shocked by this one because, I usually am not a huge fan of shopping).  The day after Thanksgiving has been dubbed "Black Friday" and marks the beginning of Christmas shopping season.  Retailers open for extended hours, offer ridiculous sales, and it has become the biggest shopping day of the year.  Everything is on sale, with popular items (TVs, computers, game systems, jewelry, clothes) marked down 50% or more.  People often line up outside stores at 3 or 4 am waiting for them to open, and stories of violence and even deaths due as a result of the shopping frenzy are not unheard of.  It's a great time to buy gifts, not only for your loved ones, but for yourself.  On a side note, when I first heard the "biggest shopping day of the year," I didn't believe it, thinking it was just a PR strategy.  "The busiest shopping day of the year must be the day before Christmas where everyone (myself included) rushes to buy Christmas gifts for the next day," the lazy bum in me thought.  As it turns out, I was wrong (at least I have been since 2004).

This year, although I have no plans for Chuseok, I think I will try to organize some sort of turkey dinner come November and perhaps get back to the US for Christmas/New Year. Perhaps, as you enjoy your extended weekend, you too can think about the things you have for which you are thankful, the things you once had that you miss, and how you might turn the latter into the former.

I know this post has been a bit unlike my previous posts in both tone and content, and next week, I assure you I'll be posting about cancer-sniffing dogs, polio in china, or something like that :).

Have a wonderful Chuseok everyone!

(image source: http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRsCibalp3Wlh2jMmlM2juW6BCdm4uV30GlWEYIGcHdioyflciE)