| Volume 61, October '08 |  |
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Seonyudo
By: Amanda DiLauro Chuseok is the Korean version of Thanksgiving. On Chuseok, families gather and visit the tombs of their ancestors. Way back when, Koreans were buried on mountains, above ground. Korean families gather and travel to the mountains to pray to their ancestors. Chuseok always falls on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar. On this night, there is a full moon and Koreans do some type of moon appreciation ritual. Chuseok used to revolve around the harvest and if there was a bad harvest, there was no Chuseok. Now, Chuseok is primarily a family holiday, businesses are closed and school is off for 3 or more days.
On Chuesok, Koreans eat songpyeon, which is a fluffy rice cake with a cinnamon flavor. This, just like all Korean food is gross. Since everyone is traveling to family throughout Korea, there is a ton of traffic during the Chuseok holiday. Luckily, I didn’t hit any when I went to Seonyudo Island for my Americanized Chuseok celebration. Women wear traditional Chuseok outfits during the holiday. Even the women who work at the local grocery store were wearing this long, rather ugly gowns. They are comprised of florescent colors that don’t match and make the women look pregnant.
The owners of our school, Eddie and Judy got every ESL teacher a Dunkin’ Donuts chocolate cake to celebrate the holiday, which was very nice of them. Since school was closed for Chuseok the Korean version of Thanksgiving, Dan and I went to Seonyudo Island. Traveling to Seonyudo Island was rather easy. It was a quick bus ride to east coastal city of Gunsan, then an hour ferry ride to the islands. Seonyudo is comprised of four different islands that are connected by footbridges. The island was gorgeous. Large rocks jutting out from the blue sea. The only way to get from island to island is by foot or bike. Most tourists rent a bike for 10,000 won, equaling about 10 dollars. A bike is the only necessity needed to explore beautiful Seonyudo. On the island there are a handful of natural waterfalls. Although they are situated on the summit of the mountain, it is worth the dangerous and scenic hike to see them. Seonyudo is located in the Yellow Sea, yet the watercolor is a dark shade of blue. The main beach in Seonyudo is filled with an eclectic variety of seashells. All in full form with eccentric designs and vibrant colors. Beachcombing passed the day for me, as I am an avid seashell collector. One of the most notable parts of the day was when I saw a large round object washed ashore. I ran up to it and to my surprise, it was an enormous jellyfish. I had no idea that jellyfish could get that big, but definitely sure can. In the Yellow Sea there is this mysterious tide that moves about 500 yards within a few hours. It moves so fast that the jellyfish can’t even make it back to sea in time. That evening we ventured to the local restaurant. Seafood is the only type of food on the island. We tried desperately to order noodles, but instead we were served octopus omelet with a raw fish soufflé. I politely purchased a packet of ramen noodles and apologized profusely to the restaurant owners explaining that I am a vegetarian, or some rendition of one. Claiming you’re a vegetarian in Korea is like claiming you’ve contracted the bubonic plague. It gives the Korean people yet another excuse to look at you with confusion, then force a side smile and semi bow. That evening we managed to bump into a group of 15 westerners from Jeonju. We made a campfire, drank some soju and exchanged embarrassing stories about being a foreigner in a very eastern and conservative culture. It was an awesome Chuseok to say the least, but I cold have gone for a massive Thanksgiving dinner. |
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