What is Chuseok? It is Korean Thanksgiving. This year it was on September 22nd. We had a great day. I wanted to mark the occasion with some fall photos of Jack in his Hanbok. It was rainy most of the day but the rain held off long enough for me to get some fun shots of Jack.
I really like the circle because it reminds me of the full harvest moon of Chuseok.
I spent time preparing a Korean meal. We had bee-bim bop, which means "mixed up rice" in Korean.
It is thinly sliced beef marinated in garlic, green onion, soy sauce and sugar. Then you cook thin strips of eggs, various veggies. We choose spinach, sprouts, and carrots. Each item has it's own bowl.
Then you pile the rice in the bottom of your bowl, then add whatever you choose of the other ingredients and mix them all together. In Korea they sometimes serve this dish in a HOT bowl. They put a raw egg on the top if thir rice mrat and veggies, and when you mix it, the bowl is so hot it cooks the egg for you. I hope to try that next time we visit Korea.
Jack saying the "B" in "bop" Korean word for rice.
Jack saying the "o" in "bop" He said bop evening long, over and over.
The spread.
Bee-bim bop
We ended our evening playing a game of Yut. It is a fun game, and can be simplified for kids like our five year old daughter, or involve enough strategy that it can make even adults think hard on what moves they want to make.
It is played with a set of four sticks. One side of the stick is flat and you get to move spaces on a board for how many sticks face up or down when you toss them.
Jack had the tossing part down. He enjoyed himself. What one year old boy wouldn't like to throw sticks?
A special surprise came at the end of the day. We got a phone call from a friend who brought over some Songpyeon. This is a special rice cake that is made special for Chuseok. It is glutenous rice stuffed with a sweet sesame seed mixture or sweet red bean paste. It is sticky and chewy and sweet. It did take a bit of getting used to, but it was a great treat. I ate much more the next day, since the first night I was already so full from eating dinner I didn't have much room for more. I think Songpyeon is much like Kimchi, at first you are not so sure, but it grows on you and then you start to crave it!
