This means 'happy holiday' in Korean.
Chuseok (추석) is a national holiday which celebrates a good harvest where Koreans gather with family, eat traditional Korean food (mostly seong pyun (rice cake)) and spend time together. It is much like Thanksgiving in America although the food is obviously different.
My school gave every teacher and staff member a gift for Chuseok...
Yes, Spam...although this holiday celebrates a good harvest, Koreans love their Spam. Also, this is a large box full of at least 20 cans of spam!
I also had the opportunity to go to a Chuseok dinner at a 1/2 Korean; 1/2 Chilean home in Bundang, a satellite city of Seoul. One of the other foreign teachers here is good friends with the son; he had attended Chuseok with them a couple years ago.
The night was filled with too much food and lots of conversation. It's customary for the eldest member of the family to give a gift to everyone and although grandma was present, it was two uncles who gave gifts. I was given gifts as well: a manicure set and $20! I felt very strange accepting the gift but I learned it would be rude not to accept it.
More to come on my Chuseok vacation...
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