Apart from Soullal (Lunar New Year), Chusok is the next most important festival in Korea. It is celebrated on the 15th day of eighth moon in the lunar calendar. Incidentally, on this same day, Chinese all over the world celebrate the "Mid-Autumn Festival", called "Mooncake Festival" in some parts of Southeast Asia.
But the reason for celebrating Chusok is slightly different from Mid-Autumn Festival. I think it is more similar to the Western Thanksgiving Day. It is a day when Koreans return home to their families and say prayers to their ancestors to give thanks for the bountiful harvest. Traditionally, Korea was an agricultural country. Today, most Koreans who work away from home try their best to make it back to their respective hometowns. Just like during Soullal, Seoul is almost deserted during Chusok.
I was invited by a friend to join her family at their grandparents’ home in a small town outside Seoul (can’t remember the name--my apologies). Her family was pretty simple, although my friend’s mother tried to keep to tradition as much as possible. One week before Chusok, she started preparing food to be brought back to the hometown. The most popular dish was the ssongpyeon.
Ssongpyeon is the most famous staple Chuseok dish. Rice powder is boiled and kneaded to make the songpyeon dough, and it's then filled with a sweet stuffing made of sesame seeds, beans, or chestnuts. The stuffed dough is steamed with pine needles, which add fragrance. It is believed that women who can shape the pretty half-moon will marry good men, an old belief which encourages them to make Ssongpyeon with all their hearts (source: tour2korea.com).
We arrived at the grandparents’ house slightly after 8am. Because my friends and her family were all Christians, there were no prayers or ancestors' memorial rites performed. The ssongpyeon, which was prepared earlier, was quickly being laid out in the kitchen, and the womenfolk started cooking more food for that morning’s lunch. Among other dishes served was the vegetarian dish of cabbage/snow fungus/mushrooms. Again, this was very similar to the Chinese vegertarian dish called "lor-hon-chai". We had our lunch by noon and by 1pm were all sitting idly in front of the TV, bored. We made our way back to Seoul and went down to Myeongdong for shopping, and it was crowded! Well, I guess traditions have changed.
I found out later that Korean Folk Village, as well as the National Folk Museum, holds special exhibitions and events to mark this festival. The 15th day of the lunar eighth moon normally falls on the second or third week of September.