Now is the Age of Culture The Scenery of Chuseok May Change, But the True Meaning of Hangawi Must Not

The nation's greatest holiday, Chuseok, is approaching. Every year during the Hangawi holiday period, giant waves of migration form on the roads, and department stores and traditional markets are bustling with people rushing to buy holiday items.

However, if we examine the reality behind this familiar scene closely, we can see that the destinations people travel to and the ways food is prepared for the holiday have changed dramatically from the past. The frills of long hours of housework and cumbersome procedures are fading away, and in their place, a "connection of hearts"—where we look back on our families and surroundings and exchange warm greetings—is taking root.

"Hangawi," meaning the middle of autumn and the supreme holiday of the year, is the harvest festival of agricultural society that has continued for 2,000 years and is now at a turning point.

A 2,000-year agricultural festival that began with cloth-weaving competitions

Tracing the historical roots of Chuseok clarifies where the true essence of the holiday originally lay. Chuseok, which originated from "Gaebae (嘉俳)," a cloth-weaving competition during the Silla era, was both a ritual of Yeongshin (welcoming spirits) and Heonsik (offering food), where the fruits of a year's harvest were shared with ancestors, and a festival of "Daedong (大同)"—the great unity—where all villagers threw off the hardships of labor through wrestling and Ganggang-sullae dancing. As the Joseon period progressed and Neo-Confucian principles of etiquette took root, Confucian rituals of ancestor veneration and grave visits became more elaborate, and this evolved into the robust framework of the modern holiday centered around "large family gatherings at the eldest house."

The dissolution of mass migration...from "obligation" to "practicality and rest"

Until the early 2000s, the epitome of the Chuseok holiday was the "mass migration of the nation" heading home to hometowns. However, having gone through industrialization and urbanization, and with the rapid increase in nuclear families and single-person households in today's society, the way the general public observes holidays is undergoing fundamental transformation.

The most noticeable change is the practicalization of family gathering methods and meal preparation. The tradition of gathering centered on extended families and clans has been reorganized into dispersed holidays among single-person households and small family units. The ancestral ritual table, which once involved long hours of housework, is being drastically simplified or replaced with convenience foods, meal kits, and outsourced catering services. An increasing number of households are also completely omitting the ritual itself.

The purpose of using holiday time has also shifted from "performing Confucian rituals" to "personal recharging." The "Chucangs (Chuseok + vacation)" travelers who depart for domestic and international destinations instead of heading home have emerged as major holiday consumers, and the "Solo-Chuseok" culture of enjoying convenience store holiday meals alone and resting at home has also become completely established.

This change resulted from a combination of the older generation's proposals for simplification, having experienced the fatigue of holiday housework, and the younger generation's pragmatism, which views holidays as opportunities for rest and self-improvement.

Form may change, but values to preserve...a time of connection that looks back on family and those around us

Some voices express concern about the dissolution of traditional culture or the weakening of family communal consciousness in response to these changes. However, from an anthropological perspective, this interpretation—viewing it as a natural evolution adapted to contemporary lifestyles rather than a rupture with tradition—gains more persuasive power. This is because tradition is not a fixed artifact but a living entity that constantly transforms while reflecting the life of the times.

Yet no matter how much the paradigm of holidays changes, there is an essence we must never lose sight of. The most sublime value of Chuseok does not lie in excessive rituals or an overflowing ancestral table, but in "the connection of hearts—checking on family and those around us, inquiring after their well-being, and wishing for their peace."

While formalistic procedures and the frills of cumbersome housework may diminish, the time to pause amid our busy daily lives, express gratitude for the boundless love and dedication our parents have given us, and extend warm greetings to those we hold dear—this is an irreplaceable warmth in our society. The true meaning of Hangawi that has been passed down for 2,000 years lies precisely in this spirit: when people separated by distance check on each other's well-being, soothe the hardships of a difficult year, and pray for each other's peace.

Modern Hangawi, though the ancestral table may be less abundant, is now filled with warm greetings and tender gazes toward one another. Though its forms have become more diverse, as long as the original spirit of the holiday—embracing those around us and sharing warmth—remains alive, Chuseok will continue to be the most abundant sanctuary and milestone sustaining our lives.