Chuseok, Korea's biggest holiday of the year, started this week. According to Samguksagi, a historical record of the Three Kingdoms of Koguryo, Baekje and Shilla, Chuseok dates back to the Shilla Kingdom, which thrived around 2,000 years ago.
A big festival was held by an ancient king of Shilla, in which two teams of women were formed, each led by one of the king's two daughters, to compete in weaving. The month-long contest lasted until the 15th day of the eighth lunar month.
The two teams of women wove fabric from early morning until late at night. A month later the team that wove the longest piece of fabric won and they were treated by the losing team to seasonal fruits and drinks, and a huge party under the full moon, the brightest night of the year, ensued.
Many historians view this as the first Chuseok, although there are several different tales as to the holiday's origins.
But why did Chuseok become the biggest holiday in Korea? We often describe Chuseok to foreigners as "Korean Thanksgiving," inviting comparisons to the U.S. holiday, but there is a big difference. Thanksgiving in the U.S. is celebrated after the harvest. That's why it falls on the fourth Thursday in November. But in Korea, Chuseok comes before the harvest, wishing for a bountiful year after people have endured droughts and floods during the summer.
To celebrate the occasion, Koreans make songpyeon or crescent-shaped rice cakes, wear hanbok or traditional Korean dress to pay respects to their ancestors' graves, observe the full moon and enjoy a variety of folk events or performances including Ganggangsullae.
While observing the full moon, which symbolizes fertility, prosperity and abundance, people make wishes and pray for a bountiful harvest as well as a bumper year.
There are several interesting stories about Ganggangsullae, a large circle dance performed in the shape of the full moon, with dancers holding hands and whirling and singing. There is one which says that Admiral Yi Sun-shin, who repelled a Japanese invasion in the 16th century, mobilized women disguised as men to perform Ganggangsullae to make the Korean military force look bigger than it was.
Nowadays, Chuseok mostly serves to remind modern Koreans, most of whom live in cities, of their agrarian roots.
