Seoul asks you out on Chuseok holidays

Many people leave Seoul to head to hometown on Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) but many others also stay in the capital city. Seoul is hometown to many people and parents living outside Seoul are increasingly coming to Seoul to meet their children. For these people, Seoul will be holding many cultural events, including traditional folk games and cultural performances.

During Chuseok holidays, people visiting Seoul`s 10 parks, Namsan Hanok Village, and Seoul History Museum can enjoy Korean traditional games including yut game, top-spinning, shuttlecock game, arrows-throwing, hoop-rolling and see-sawing.

During Chuseok holiday, people can enjoy traditional performances at Namsan Hanok Village including percussion, institutions and customs, outdoor theatricals and circle dance play, as well as other experience events such as making songpyeon (half moon-shaped rice cake eaten during the Chuseok) and rice-cake mallet. On Thursday and Friday, people can learn how to set table for ancestor memorial service and how to hold the service. They can also learn beating cloth with wooden stocks, making shuttlecocks and folk games.

At Unhyeon Palace, folk game programs will be held from Wednesday to Friday, including guides` explanation on ancestor memorial service table, making shuttlecocks and lucky bags, see-sawing, and yut game. On Sunday, customary formalities of family of King Gojong and Empress Myeongseong will be held.

At the Children`s Park at 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Wednesday to Sunday, visitors can enjoy arrows-throwing, yut game, top-spinning and shuttlecock game, as well as cloth pounding, millstone, treadmill and stone mortar. At 3 p.m. on Saturday, folk song medley and Gyeonggi folk songs will open for free. At Seoul Zoo from Wednesday to Sunday, various events will be held including traditional folk games, street performance of African folk culture and autumn music concert.

People can also enjoy cultural performances in an autumn breeze. Sejong Cultural Center will hold an institution and customs acrobats performance on Thursday, a fusion percussion band performance on Friday, and acoustic bands performance on Saturday.