Traditional holiday customs scaled down as family values undergo changes

JANGSU, North Jeolla Province ― This year’s Chuseok, Korean Thanksgiving Day, falls in the second week of September, the earliest in 38 years. Chuseok, one of the major traditional Korean holidays, celebrates the fall harvest and abundance on the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar. The moon is said to look fuller on Chuseok than on any other day.But the early Chuseok this year has advanced the harvesttime and delivery start for products and gifts by two weeks to a month. Chuseok

In kitchens across the nation, families gather together to make traditional Korean dishes for Chuseok, one of South Korea’s largest annual holidays. This Sunday, households will be busy crafting songpyeon, half-moon-shaped rice cakes, and other delicacies to offer up to ancestors in appreciation of a good harvest this coming Monday morning. Those ceremonial tables, loaded to bursting with carefully prepared food, will vary from home to home, serving as edible symbols of the foodways of each fami

Chuseok, oftentimes referred to as Korean Thanksgiving, is one of the country’s most celebrated holidays and ushers in the fall season. Traditionally a time to spend at home with family members and loved ones, Chuseok is all about sharing in the riches of good company and good eats. However, for those looking for ways to spend the upcoming holiday outside the home, Seoul has countless destinations that are offering wide-ranging events and activities for both locals and expats alike. These opport

This year’s exceptionally early Chuseok holidays mark the first time the “substitute holiday system,” which guarantees an extra day off in lieu of public holidays that fall on a Sunday, will be implemented. As expected, all government organizations and most large companies will observe the extra holiday, whereas many small and medium-sized businesses cannot afford to offer a day off, to the dismay of their employees.The departure terminal of Incheon International Airport is crowded with travelle

Seokgye Lee clan carries on centuries-old culinary heritage

Pop music“Let’s Rock Festival”: The upcoming “Let’s Rock Festival” is gearing up to feature some of the country’s most notable indie bands in a two-day outdoor rock fest. The festival will include headlining acts Clazziquai Project, Peppertones, Zitten, Sister’s Barbershop, Crying Nut, No Brain, Guckkasten and Rose Motel as well as more than 30 other acts. The two-day indie music festival will be held at the Nanji Hangang Park on Sept. 20 and 21. Ticket prices are listed at 66,000 won for a one-

Cheongyang Gochu & Gugija Festival confounds expectations, offers taste of rural Korea

DENVER ― Meet my friends Joanna, Jo and Brenton, and Beth. They really helped me out on my recent trip to Denver.Joanna lent me her car. Jo gave up his room and crashed in Brenton’s room so I would have a place to sleep. Beth invited me for a lovely dinner.Thing is, I didn’t know any of them before my recent trip here.These trusting souls are part of the sharing economy, also called collaborative consumption or peer-to-peer sharing, which may be the hottest trend in travel since the birth of fre

With easy access to multiple national forests and recreation areas, an extensive Basque community with food and cultural offerings and an impressive urban green space, the city of Boise, Idaho, has a surprising number of experiences to offer the high-energy traveler. And with direct flights from cities such as Chicago, Seattle, Los Angeles and Denver, it’s easier to get to than many people might realize. It’s also particularly affordable, allowing you to make the most of your vacation dollars.Ac

Fall package at Lotte Hotel Seoul Lotte Hotel Seoul is presenting a fall package that includes a picnic at a royal palace in Seoul. The “walk package,” priced at 280,000 won, includes a one-night stay in a superior room, breakfast for two, a picnic box containing four pieces of bread and two cups of coffee, and an admission ticket to four major historical sites in Seoul, including Gyeongbokgung Palace, Deoksugung Palace and Jongmyo Shrine. The hotel will hold Oktoberfest 2014 from Sept. 20 to Oc

Korean staff present sample dishes during a celebration marking the opening of the first Asian branch of Panda Express in Seoul on Wednesday.Panda Express, a chain of restaurants serving American-Chinese cuisine, launched its first Asian branch in Seoul on Wednesday. The global restaurant chain joined hands with Seoul-based SF Innovation Co. to open Korea’s first Panda Express in the basement of Lotte Department Store in downtown Seoul. SF Innovation is a Korean restaurant business well-known fo

It used to be that pickling was something only your grandmother did. But that doesn’t apply anymore.Younger generations are embracing pickling as a way to explore their interest in food, preserve the season’s bounty and cut their food budgets.These days, pickling is so trendy that it’s even been parodied by the comedy show “Portlandia.” In one skit, the actors’ penchant for pickling gets out of control as they drop everything from parking tickets to dead birds into jars of vinegar.Jokes aside, p

Wanjajeon (pan fried meatballs in egg batter) (Korean Bapsang)Most Korean homes make several types of jeon dishes (pan-fried battered food) for their holiday feasts. Wanjajeon is among the popular choices. Meatballs are called gogi wanja in Korean and used in many traditional dishes such as soups or hotpots. When they are egg-battered and pan-fried, they are called wanjajeon. They are also commonly called “donggeurangttaeng,” meaning “a round thing.”To make jeon, the meatballs are gently pressed

Unlike Steve Almond and Mark Edmundson, the authors of two terrific new books on football, I did not grow up with a father who loved the sport.My father thinks football is commercialized barbarism ― 22 oversized idiots plowing into one another, following a byzantine set of rules no one truly understands. For me, football is a beloved fall ritual. It’s a season of Homeric contests playing out on my television screen.As the titles of their books suggest, Almond and Edmundson come down on similarly