Korea Life Blog - Chuseok

I'm not sure if the PC room will be open for the next few days, so I've done a few updates for you ahead of time. It's the Korean Thanksgiving Holiday, Chuseok. I'd better stock up on Ramyon noodles and water, as pretty much everything is closed in Korea on the actually day of Chuseok, which is Thursday. As we speak, millions of ajumas are cooking and cleaning in preperation for the family get-togethers (while their husbands drink soju and watch TV.) I'm not exactly sure the entire history of the holiday. All I know is that families eat a lot of food and visit their ancestors' graves. They even set out traditional foods and soju on the graves for their departed ancestors to enjoy. As for me, Chesouk means I have the rest of the week off from work!

Friday and Saturday I'm supposed to go to Duk Juk Do, an island off an hour off the west coast by ship. I really wanted to go to Geoje-do again to get a load of pictures, but it's just too far and holiday traffic is a nightmare, and it's virtually impossible to get train or bus tickets unless you reserve them far in advance. I'm not sure if we'll get to the island though. There's a typhoon warning for Friday, by my wonderful luck, but typhoons usually only affect the south, specifically Cheju-do.


My boss gave me this touching gift set, perhaps a subtle hint of some kind. There's some generic tooth pastes, toothbruses, soap, and some sort of body wash and shampoo called Rice Day? Gift sets like this are customary this time of year. Last year in Ulsan, my boss gave me a pair of socks and an imitation belt that broke a few weeks later. Life's getting better, slowly but surely.