As a springboard for exploring east Asia, South Korea is ideally placed for scooting off to visit cultural and natural wonders such as Cambodia's temples of Siem Reap, Vietnam's Mekong Delta, the Philippines' volcanic archipelago, China's Forbidden City or (dare I say it ?) Japan's Mt Fuji - to name just a few. Alternatively the commercial hubs of Singapore, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Shanghai are equally accessible. Of course Hawaii, Guam and the whole of Australasia, are only slightly further afield.
Surveys vary but in the global league table of public holidays, India seems to win outright with ~18 public holidays per year, mostly centred on numerous religious festivals.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/maps-and-graphics/mapped-the-countries-that-have-the-most-bank-holidays/
However South Korea also does respectably well with ~16 days, of which 5 relate to historical national events such as liberation, foundation or war memorials, 4 relate to Lunar (Chinese) New Year (Seollal) and 3 relate to Thanksgiving (Chuseok).
Chuseok, falling around the autumn equinox, is perhaps the most important of the year, combining two main concepts. The first of these is reconnecting with family, including the veneration of ancestors. The second is to celebrate a successful harvest at the end of a long, hard summer tending the crops. The veneration of ancestors means travel to the hometowns of deceased family, visiting their graves, cleaning their headstones, leaving food offerings and flowers, completing prayers and other rituals. Reconnecting with surviving family includes the preparation of large family meals, giving prayers of thanks and other traditional rituals. For a couple or family visiting only the previous 2 generations, Chuseok requires meeting the parents of each partner and also the parents of each of those - either dead or alive.
Given South Korea's unusually homogeneous population (96% Korean vs 4% foreigners) and the fact that 92% of the population live in cities (with 50% living in Seoul itself), this annual pilgrimage to reconnect the generations becomes a logistically formidable exercise in dashing from city to city.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_South_Korea
http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2016/08/25/0302000000AEN20160825009500320.html
Predictably, air and train tickets are pre-booked and sold out months in advance, leaving most people with little choice but to travel by road. Bus travel is an option for the minority of single travelers, however this is a highly competitive business at the best of times and does not come without its own risks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_mZA_kcFMU
For couples and especially families (ie: 8 out of 10 people) there really is no alternative but to take their chances by car. Korea's rugged, mountainous terrain restricts highways to the valleys, so Chuseok becomes yet another endurance test as millions of cars compete to criss-cross the country through highway bottle-necks which routinely extend a 4 hour journey to 12 or 16 hours or more.
http://www.koreatimesus.com/millions-of-s-koreans-hit-the-road-for-chuseok/
 |
| Chuseok traffic in Seoul - a greater exodus than Moses high-tailing it from Egypt |
For those who are fortunate enough to hold a job in a national conglomerate (see previous posts on Chaebols), this arduous task is sweetened slightly by the fact that employees receive a generous Chuseok travel allowance of about US$ 5,000 (GBP 3,750), which is not something to be sniffed at. It is a reflection of the importance of Chuseok that the conglomerates have maintained such extravagant allowances even in the face of some pretty dire corporate performances. More prudent employers often give employees gifts for the house of the order of US$100-200. However between individuals, the most common thing to send to each other at Chuseok is invariably spam. Not the email variety, this is the original, unidentified-meat-in-a-can variety.
During the dire circumstances of the 1950-53 Korea war, spam supplied as a simple, cheap, non-perishable staple to the US forces accidentally became a desperately sought-after luxury in the Korean community, obtainable only by those who were influential or very well connected. In a starving, peasant economy, spam quickly achieved the most improbably high prestige.
 |
| SPAM was developed in 1937 by Hormel foods in Austin Minnesota.It became a key supply to the military forces of the US, Britain and Russia. By 2007 production exceeded 7bn tins - and the world population of 6.6bn people |
Demand was such that after the war, Korean production started under license from Hormel by CJ CheilJedang Corp, then part of the Samsung Group. Over the last 60 years the prestige of spam has, if anything increased. As with most other luxury items in Korea, the perceived prestige of spam rests largely on the fact that it originated from abroad and it is sold at a 30% premium over other tinned meats.
Spam consumption in South Korea has increased five fold from 2000 to 2013 alone. Koreans now proudly advise that they produce not only the greatest varieties of spam but also the best quality - better even than the original ! Not only is spam served routinely in quality restaurants, it is also promoted in soap operas, movies and advertising as a luxury food. When exchanged as a gift spam still reflects great mutual honour and respect. Although regular tins of spam are available everywhere all year round at about US$ 3 per tin, this does not prevent buying frenzies before national holidays like Chuseok. At such times retail outlets package 9 tins together with a couple of bottles of olive oil in a fancy presentation box and knock these out as gift sets for a wallet-buckling US$ 75.
Astonishingly everyone happily scrambles to buy these, even knowing full well that after the vacation, the unsold gift sets will be reduced to clear at half the price.
 |
| SPAM - defying all odds in South Korea since 1953 |
It is worth noting that in North Korea Chuseok is an entirely different affair. Official permission is still required to leave one's home town and is normally forbidden without exceptional circumstances. Even then the cost of such a permit, either via bribes or the official process puts this beyond the reaches of all but a wealthy and privileged elite in Pyongyang.
No comments:
Post a Comment