1. What’s Chuseok? What do families even do?
Chuseok is basically Korea’s Harvest Moon Day, landing on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month when the moon hits peak roundness. The whole country goes into absolute gridlock traffic mode because everyone heads back to their hometowns. Families link up to give thanks for the harvest and pay respects to ancestors. People hit up the gravesites to clear weeds or do bows, and at night, everyone stares at the moon to drop a wish. Above all, the main quest is just sitting together to cook and demolish holiday Chuseok food.
Wanna dive deeper into Chuseok or planning a Korea trip around it?
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2. ‘Charye’ & Ritual Food: Setting the Table for the Ancestors
On Chuseok morning, Koreans run ‘Charye‘, a memorial rite to serve food to the ancestors and show gratitude. Here is the actual step-by-step breakdown.
Basic Process and Steps of Holding Charye
Traditional ritual tables arrange food according to strict Confucian rules (like placing meat dishes on the right and fruit on the left), and the ritual proceeds through these solemn steps:
- Gangshin (Greeting the Spirits): The vibe check to invite ancestor spirits to the table. Burning incense calls them with the scent, wine gets poured into cups at the gravesite or spirit tablet, and everyone bows twice.
- Chamsin (Saluting the Spirits): Once the spirits roll in, all attending family members hit a double bow to welcome them.
- Heonjan (Offering the First Cup): The core mission of handing the first shot of booze to the ancestors. The master of ceremonies pours a full cup and drops it on the ritual table, though the head of the house sometimes does it direct.
- Gaengsi and Yuban: Rice and soup hit the table, and utensils get placed or stuck right into things like rice cake soup or songpyeon so the ancestors can actually eat.
- Sasim (Farewell to the Spirits): Wrap-up time to send the ancestors back where they came from. Everyone drops a final double bow.
- Cheolsang and Eumbok (Clearing and Sharing Blessed Food): The ritual table gets cleared, and the food blessed by the ancestors gets shared among the family. Eating this food means sharing the ancestral buff stats together.
4. Taboos to Keep in Mind
- No Peaches:
Peaches were traditionally believed to ward off spirits, so they are not placed on the table for Chuseok ancestral rites, as it was thought they could prevent ancestors from visiting.
- No Fish Ending in “Chi”:
Fish such as galchi (hairtail) and samchi (Spanish mackerel), whose Korean names end in “-chi,” are traditionally avoided. Instead, more prized fish such as jogi (yellow croaker) or dried pollock (bugeo) are used.
- No Chili Powder or Garlic:
Red chili powder and the strong smell of garlic were traditionally believed to drive away spirits. As a result, Chuseok ritual dishes are generally prepared with mild, simple seasonings.
Ritual Charye Food
The Charye table gets stacked with freshly harvested rice, seasonal fruit, and meticulously prepped dishes.
- Jeon (전): Think of these as Korean pan-fried pancakes. Meat, fish, veggies, or mushrooms dipped in flour and egg wash, then fried until golden. A constant fixture on ritual tables and holiday drinking spreads.
- Namul (나물) & Sanjeok (산적): Triple greens like bracken, bellflower root, and spinach, paired with skewered and grilled beef or fish.
- Fruit & Alcohol: Fresh apples, pears, and traditional liquor rounding out the setup.
3. Actual Chuseok Foods & Regional Cheat Codes
Once the ritual wraps up, families destroy the food together. Since Korea mixes mountain terrain with ocean borders, regional menus hit different.
Basic Staples & Regional Elite Picks
- Songpyeon (송편): Freshly steamed songpyeon hits with chewy texture and sweet sesame filling—elite snack tier. Steamed over pine needles so it smells like a forest. Rice dough stuffed with sesame, chestnut, red bean, or mung bean, then steamed. There’s an old-school myth that rolling pretty songpyeon gets you a pretty daughter, so people obsess over the shape and effort.
For Korean kids, it’s basically a low-stakes gacha pull. One bite to find out if you got sweet sesame or… the cursed bean filling ☠️ - Donggeurangttaeng (동그랑땡): Pan-fried round patties of minced meat and veggies. Absolute My S-tier favorite. 🤩
- Japchae (잡채): Glass noodles stir-fried with veggies and meat in soy sauce, mandatory for any feast. Nowadays you can cheat with instant packs like Ottogi’s instant japchae.
Regional Chuseok food
- Gyeongsang-do(경상도) – Dombegi (돔베기) (Shark Meat) & Giant Octopus(피문어):
Gyeongbuk region puts shark meat skewers on the ritual table. Coastal areas boil massive whole octopus, and parts of Daegu weirdly throw whole fried chicken on there. - Jeolla-do (전라도) – Steamed Skate (홍어찜):
Jeolla feasts always feature funky, ammonia-punch fermented skate. Ritual tables get steamed skate alongside massive piles of fresh cockles. - Gangwon-do (강원도) – Buckwheat (밀전병) & Potato Pancakes (감자전):
Mountain terrain means potatoes and buckwheat rule. People fry up ultra-thin pancakes as snacks or ritual items.
4. Korean Traditional Sweets & Snacks
- Yakgwa (약과): Traditional deep-fried pastry made from wheat flour, sesame oil, honey, and ginger juice. Heavy sweetness with faint cinnamon and ginger notes. Super trendy lately thanks to convenience store cookie collabs.
- Sikhye (식혜) & Sujeonggwa (수정과): Sikhye is a sweet malt-and-rice drink, while sujeonggwa is an iced, spicy cinnamon-ginger punch with dried persimmons. S-tier palate cleansers after inhaling oily holiday food. Hand-crafted versions slap at traditional markets like Mangwon Market (got a slushie version for 3,000 won). But the one and only canned goat is still ‘Birak Sikhye’.
- Hangwa (한과): Crispy, sweet traditional puffed grain snacks coated in maltose or honey. Looks like fresh snow piled on top. Melts instantly in your mouth 🫠
5. Korea Unique Gift Culture & ‘Tteokgap’ (Holiday Bonus)
Korea’s holiday gifting culture is wild and hyper-practical. Come Chuseok, people swap gift sets for friends, coworkers, and family. Fancy beef and fruit exist, but the best mass-market meta is processed food sets 😇. Peak efficiency mixed with holiday vibes.
- Spam Gift Set: Foreigners find this hilarious. In the US it’s cheap canned meat, but in Korea it’s the #1 requested holiday flex. Neatly lined up cans in a pretty box are the visual definition of Korean holidays.
- Cooking Oil & Sesame Oil Set: The absolute efficiency king loaded with canola oil, sesame oil, and liquid sugar. Long shelf life, zero waste.
- Tuna Can Set: The direct rival to Spam sets, equally welcomed by everyone.
Office Workers’ Buff, ‘Tteokgap’
- Origin
The term originated from a tradition in which people gave each other money during major holidays such as Chuseok and Lunar New Year, so families could afford to make or buy rice cakes (tteok) to share during the holiday.
- Modern Meaning
Today, in Korean workplaces, it is a casual term for the regular holiday bonus that companies give their employees around major holidays. The money is generally intended to help cover expenses such as traveling home for the holidays or preparing food for ancestral rites.
- Negative Meaning (Slang Context)
In some news reports or political contexts, the term can also be used as slang for a bribe or kickback. So, the meaning can vary depending on the context.
Working in Korea? You already know about Tteokgap. Absolute W 🤙~
Korea’s biggest holiday is literally tomorrow. I’m about to head to grandma’s house and get force-fed like a livestock animal. You know the vibe.
Grandma POV: I am perpetually on the verge of starvation ☠️
My family usually just keeps it simple with a quick meal(?) though. What’s your holiday looking like? Any of you living in Korea got plans for the long weekend? Oh, right—stores usually clear out remaining gift set inventory right after the holiday ends, so you might stumble on a crazy discount if you look hard.