What Is Chuseok? Korea's Harvest Holiday
Written and reviewed by Jun and Jin, native Korean speakers
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After this page, you can explain what Chuseok is and why it's Korea's biggest harvest holiday.
10-second answer
What Is Chuseok?
추석 (Chuseok) is Korea's major harvest holiday, held on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month (so its solar date shifts every year, usually to September or early October). Families return to their hometowns, hold ancestral memorial rites (차례, charye), and eat 송편 (songpyeon) — half-moon-shaped rice cakes made for the holiday. The next Chuseok is Wednesday, September 15, 2027, with the public holiday running Tuesday, September 14 through Thursday, September 16; in 2026 it fell on September 25.
Quick check — did that land?
1. What calendar does Chuseok's date follow?
추석. One of the biggest holidays in Korea.
The Basics
| What | Detail |
|---|---|
| When | 15th day of the 8th lunar month (date shifts yearly on the solar calendar — see the dates below) |
| Length | A 3-day holiday: the day before, the day of, and the day after |
| Often called | "Korean Thanksgiving" in English — imperfect, but gives the general idea |
| Signature food | 송편 (songpyeon) — small half-moon rice cakes, often made together as a family |
A note on spelling. The official romanization of 추석 is Chuseok, but you'll also see it written Chusok, Chusuk or Choosuk. They're all the same word.
See also: Common Korean Surnames
송편 (Songpyeon): Three Colors, Three Doughs
| Color | Name | Dough | Filling (소) |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 기본 송편 (plain songpyeon) | Rice dough only | 참깨소 — sesame seeds mixed with sugar |
| Dark green | 쑥송편 (ssuk-songpyeon) | Rice dough + 쑥 (mugwort) | 참깨소 — sesame seeds mixed with sugar |
| Yellow | 녹두송편 (nokdu-songpyeon) | Rice dough + 녹두 (mung bean) | 녹두소 — mung bean filling |
Fillings vary, but the most typical is 참깨소 (sesame and sugar). Songpyeon with that sweet sesame filling are often called 꿀송편 (kkul-songpyeon, "honey songpyeon") even though there's no real honey inside. Small beans were a common filling in the past, but you rarely see them now.
Traditionally, the whole family sat together and made songpyeon at home in the days before Chuseok. These days many families buy them instead — from rice-cake shops (떡집) or online — so a plate like the one above is just as likely to come from a shop as from a family kitchen.
송편 먹었어?
songpyeon meogeosseo?
Did you have some songpyeon?
저는 꿀송편이 제일 좋아요.
jeoneun kkulsongpyeoni jeil joayo.
I like kkul-songpyeon (the sweet sesame ones) best.
When Is Chuseok? Dates for 2025–2030
| Year | Chuseok day | 3-day public holiday | Substitute day off |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Monday, October 6 | Sunday, October 5 – Tuesday, October 7 | Wednesday, October 8 |
| 2026 | Friday, September 25 | Thursday, September 24 – Saturday, September 26 | None |
| 2027 | Wednesday, September 15 | Tuesday, September 14 – Thursday, September 16 | None |
| 2028 | Tuesday, October 3 | Monday, October 2 – Wednesday, October 4 | Thursday, October 5 (expected) |
| 2029 | Saturday, September 22 | Friday, September 21 – Sunday, September 23 | Monday, September 24 (expected) |
| 2030 | Thursday, September 12 | Wednesday, September 11 – Friday, September 13 | None (expected) |
The holiday is always three days: the day before Chuseok, Chuseok itself, and the day after. When one of those days falls on a Sunday or overlaps another public holiday, Korea adds a substitute day off (대체공휴일) — a Saturday doesn't count. That's why 2025 got an extra Wednesday (the first day was a Sunday), 2028 should get one (Chuseok lands on 개천절, National Foundation Day, October 3) and 2029 should too (the last day is a Sunday). The Chuseok dates themselves come from the official lunar calendar and won't change; the substitute days for 2028–2030 are expected, because each year's official calendar is published around June of the year before.
Visiting Korea during Chuseok?
Trains and highways are packed around the holiday (see the travel rush below), and many family-run restaurants and shops close for a day or two. Big-chain stores, convenience stores and most tourist sites stay open, so plan long-distance trips early rather than avoiding the holiday altogether.
차례 (Charye): The Ancestral Rite
Many families hold 차례 — a memorial ceremony honoring ancestors, with a carefully arranged table of food, bowing, and set rituals passed down through the family line. It connects directly to the clan/lineage system (본관) covered on the surnames page — Chuseok is, in large part, a holiday about family continuity across generations.
송편-making itself is often a shared family activity leading up to the holiday — there's even a light tradition that whoever shapes a particularly nice songpyeon will have good luck (or a beautiful future spouse/child, depending on who's telling it).
The Massive Travel Rush: 민족대이동
Chuseok triggers one of the largest simultaneous domestic travel events in Korea — often called 민족대이동 ("the great migration of the people") — as huge numbers of people head to their hometowns (고향) to be with extended family, turning highways and train stations into some of the most congested points of the entire year.
To plan a trip around the rush, check the dates in our list of Korean public holidays.
Chuseok Greetings
즐거운 추석 보내세요.
jeulgeoun chuseok bonaeseyo.
Have a happy Chuseok.
풍성한 한가위 되세요.
pungseonghan hangawi doeseyo.
Wishing you an abundant Chuseok.
한가위 (hangawi) is a native-Korean alternative name for Chuseok, often used in warm, traditional-feeling greetings.
Common Mistakes
Mistake #1 — Assuming it's on a fixed solar date
Because it follows the lunar calendar, Chuseok lands on a different date (in the September–October range) every year on the standard calendar.
Mistake #2 — Calling it just "Korean Thanksgiving" without nuance
It's a helpful shorthand, but 차례 and the deep focus on ancestry/lineage give Chuseok a somewhat different emotional core than the American holiday.
Mini Quiz
2. What is 송편?
3. What is 민족대이동?
Related Knowledge
Learn Next
What Is Seollal? Korean Lunar New Year
Chuseok's sibling holiday — same family-and-ancestry spirit, different season and rituals.
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