Chuseok in Seoul

Yesterday was such an awesome day. It was the first day of Chuseok, somewhat like Thanksgiving except a little bigger. Chuseok is supposed to be the best time to view the moon and everyone is suppoed to make a wish as they view the moon. I started out by taking a hour and half train ride to the northern tip of Seoul to Chang Dong. The city was having a free concert. I thought it would be something exciting and fun, but it turned out a little different. It was basically a dance show mixed in some singing. The outfits were elaborate, but that was about the only thing interesting about the show. It was almost like a Dollywood show except in Korea.

After the show, I was headed back to Bucheon. I had read that there were going to be some Chuseok activities at Seoul City Hall. I thought about passing it up and going home due to the disappointment in Chang Dong, and then I thought that I should check it out since I would be passing by. Once I got there, there were a bunch of people in the plaza. There were a lot of booths set up so people could make traditional crafts, play traditional games, try on Korea's traditional dress hanbok, and even take part in a tea ceremony. I also noticed there were to be performances later that night. So, I decided to hang around and check it out.

The evening started out with a traditional farmer's dance. I had been wanting to see this since I came to Korea last summer. Each community used to have a band that played at community events to celebrate the planting and harvesting of crops. They play hourglass-shaped drums, gongs, and horns; they also were a long ribbon on the top of their hats. As the dance and march, they twirl the ribbons to create a mass of circles. They also do many acrobatic tricks. One of the old men playing was really funny. He would take water from the audience, and he kept trying to pose for a photographer standing near by. They were also a couple of cute kids that jumped around with them.

After the farmer dance, everyone gathered around the main stage for the big show. Remember that none of this is in English. The MC came out and tried to warm up the crowd. He handed out prizes to people wearing hanbok and spoke a lot of Korean gibberish. He must have been funny because everyone laughed. I just pretended like I knew what was going on. A Korean guy sitting next to me randomly started talking to me. He was very friendly and warned me that I might be called on since I was a foreigner. It was nice to have someone to talk to. Anyways, the MC guy starts walking through the audience and has everyone make a "ha ha ha" sound. Then he stops to a Korean guy sitting on the other side of me and has him stand up to make the "ha ha ha" sound. He said it wasn't good enough so he looks at me and says, "stand up, please." I was a little taken aback. My friend was right. Suddenly, my face was plastered on the jumbotron in front of the audience of thousands, including the mayor of Seoul. He asked me where I was from and then asked me if I knew English. As a joke, I said "a little." Suddenly, he starts speaking in Korea, and I thought, "oh crap, he thinks I can speak Korean." Luckily, he was just translating because that was when people laughed. He had me do the "ha ha ha" thing and must have liked it because he had me do it numerous times. He then thanked me and gave me a free studio portrait session. That was my moment in the spotlight.

The rest of the evening was filled with some great performances. The B-Boys did some beat boxing and break dancing. Some other performers played traditional Korean music but fused it with modern beats. A guy named Choi So Ri played traditional drums but really mixed it up with modern music, fire, and water. It was an amazing performance! He played the traditional Korean folk song "Arirang" but it felt more like something played in a techno club rather than hundreds of years ago. Sadly, my Korea friend had to leave because of his restless daughter. The old woman sitting next to him then befriended me and talked to me about the young performer who is just 11 years old and has the deep voice of an adult. She then swayed hands with me as the more subdued Arirang was played. Her husband would want to tell me something so she just translated for me. As they left early also, the old man with a NY Yankees hat shook hands with me and patted me on the back. I think he appreciated the fact that I was there trying to experience Korean culture.

The end of the night's events was pretty fantastic. It is traditional for women to do a "Soo Wal Rae" circle dance under the moonlight on Chuseok. It was such an inspiring dance with bubble machines blowing full speed, the girls in white hanbok circling around on stage, and the drummers on the side. After they finished, they formed somewhat of a "Soo Wal Rae" tango line and came marching through the audience with the drummers. They stopped right in front of me, and they started dancing with the audience. One of the girls even grabbed my hand and started swirling with me. Everyone was up, clapping, and dancing. Imagine a major city like Seoul doing this traditional dance all together. One woman brought her little kid in a hanbok up to me and had me do the dance with him. We then formed a circle with a bunch of people around us and did our own So Wal Rae. Words cannot describe the awesomeness. That concluded the evening.

The woman and her kid started talking to me and told me many times, "I love you," and would then hug me. Some other Koreans then came up to me and did the same. The little kid even handed me his traditional Korean fan. He had bought the fan earlier that night and wanted to give it to me as a gift. They all said that they had seen me on the screen earlier that night and thought I was funny with my "ha ha ha." One guy even came up to me and started asking me about American Thanksgiving and American music; he was a fan of American jazz. It was so great to meet so many strangers last night; you could certainly feel the Chuseok spirit. After I greeted a few people, I then headed for the subway and got on the train home. Such a great and memorable night!

(video is forthcoming)

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