Happy Chuseok!

Chuseok (Korean: 추석),^[1] originally known as hangawi (한가위, from archaic Korean for "the great middle (of autumn)"), is a major harvest festival and a three-day holiday in Korea celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar. Like many other harvest festivals, it is held around the Autumn Equinox. As a celebration of the good harvest, Koreans visit their ancestral hometowns and share a feast of Korean traditional food such as songpyeon and rice wines such as sindoju and dongdongju.

In modern South Korea, on Chuseok there is a mass exodus (from Seoul) of Koreans as they return to their hometowns to pay respects to the spirits of their ancestors. People perform ancestral worship rituals early in the morning. Then they visit the tombs of their immediate ancestors to trim plants and clean the area around the tomb, and offer food, drink, and crops to their ancestors. Harvest crops are attributed to the blessing of ancestors.  [Thanks Wikipedia!]

As T.G. and I set out on a new adventure today, knowing it was a major Korean Holiday, we expected things to appear empty, but that was not really the case. Once we made it to Gyeongbokgung Palace, it was very crowded!  Interestingly enough, this palace is located very near the center of downtown Seoul,so it was an odd juxtaposition to see a historic palace with beautiful mountains as the backdrop on your left and that same historic palace with high-rises as the backdrop to your right.  The palace grounds are absolutely beautiful!  I'll let the pictures speak for themselves...

It was absolutely amazing to see all of the sights first-hand.  It feels like you have taken a step back in history!  Those who appear to be local seemed to enjoy it a much as those who appeared to be foreign. It was also very cute to see the children dressed in their traditional Korean dress.  I learned it is not as customary for adults to wear the traditional Korean dress, but that kids do for fun!

Adorable family...








T.G. and I wanted in on the fun too!




Once we left the palace, we went to find the statues I was told about by my friend and instructor, Julie, from Soho & Noho (shameless plug for her shop!).  The statues are of King Sejong and Admiral Yi Sunshin.  Both of their statues have full museums underground below them, as well as, beautiful lawns around them.

Sejong reinforced Confucian policies and executed major legal amendments (공법; 貢法). He also oversaw the creation of Hangul, encouraged advancements of scientific technology, and instituted many other efforts to stabilize and improve prosperity. He dispatched military campaigns to the north and installed Samin Policy (사민정책; 徙民政策) to attract new settlers to the region. To the south, he subjugated Japanese raiders and captured Tsushima Island.

During his reign from 1418 to 1450, he governed from 1418 to 1442 and governed as regent with his son Grand PrinceMoonJong until his death in either 1442 or 1450.

Sejong is one of only two Korean rulers posthumously honored with the appellation "the Great", the other being Gwanggaeto the Great of Goguryeo.

Yi Sun-shin (Hangul: 이순신; Hanja: 李舜臣; April 28, 1545 – December 16, 1598) was a Korean naval commander, famed for his victories against the Japanese navy during the Imjin war in the Joseon Dynasty, and is well-respected for his exemplary conduct on and off the battlefield not only by Koreans, but by Japanese Admirals as well.^[1] Military historians have compared his naval genius to that of Admiral Horatio Nelson.^[2] His title of Samdo Sugun Tongjesa (삼도수군통제사; 三道水軍統制使), literally meaning "Naval Commander of the Three Provinces," was the title for the commander of the Korean navy until 1896.

Once we explored these two celebrated men's statues, we walked about two more blocks to find the Cheonggyecheon stream.  

Cheonggyecheon (Hangul: 청계천) is an 8.4 km (5.2 miles) long, modern public recreation space in downtown Seoul, South Korea. The massive urban renewal project is on the site of a stream that flowed before the rapid post-war economic development required it to be covered by transportation infrastructure. The $900 million project initially attracted much public criticism but, after opening in 2005, has become popular among city residents and tourists.
           





Cheonggyecheon is a 5.8 km creek flowing west to east through downtown Seoul, and then meeting Jungnangcheon, which in turn connects to the Han River and empties into the Yellow Sea. During the presidency of Park Chung-hee, Cheonggyecheon was covered with concrete for roads. 

What an educational and beautiful day for us both!