Chuseok in South Korea

Experiencing the holiday for the first time.

In Korea every September they celebrate Chuseok which is kind of the equivalent of Thanksgiving in America. So, since I was here for the holiday, my friend invited me down to Busan to spend the holiday with her family!

My friend Yelim and her cousin!

I think anyone going to spend a couple of days with a friend Yelim’s family for the first time is a little nervous, throw in a known language, I was terrified. More so that I would embarrass myself with my little knowledge of Korean, than afraid to meet them. But…..They were so welcoming, and I felt very comfortable with all of them (It helped that most of them spoke English extremely well).

This is a part of BIFF street

The first day I spent in Busan, Yelim took me to this place called BIFF street. BIFF stands for “Busan International Film Festival”, it is basically this street full of shops and food stands. It was one of my first times having real street food in Korea and OH MY GOD it was delicious. We tried so much stuff, I had tteokbokki, Ssiat Hotteok, peanut ice cream and some other delicious things. The ocean is right across from this street and its incredible. The ocean smell and delicious foods made it an incredible afternoon. Of course, we explored around Busan some more, seeing as I had already been to the city before she tried to take me placed I had yet to visit! So, we ventured off to this skywalk that took us right over the water. The wind that day was ridiculous so basically all the pictures look a little crazy, with my hair flying everywhere.

This trip was also the first time I got to experience a Korean jjimjilbang which is like a Korean spa (I will write a separate post on that by itself). Her family took me along with them to dinner, it was one of the more interesting dinners I have had in my life. We all loaded into this rented van and drove up a mountain to this traditional restaurant with a beautiful view. after which we went to one of her aunt’s house for this cool desert party. We had fruit and cheese trays and cakes, and of course wine. It was kind of a perfect ending to a LONG day!

I was only in Busan with them for 2 days and 1 night, so before heading home with her family they took me to see this gorgeous temple that I had seen pictures of. It was absolutely breathtaking, as it is situated on the side of a cliff over the ocean. I mean it was on of those life changing places. As we walked around the temple and the waves crashed below it was something out of a fairytale, I felt at such a peace with everything. If you ever make it to Busan, South Korea you must check out yonggungsa temple.

That is basically the whole story of my adventures in Busan for Chuseok and I would say it was an incredible experience. I got to see more of this beautiful city and I got to spend time with an incredible family who allowed me to experience Chuseok with them.