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SEOUL: For five days beginning Wednesday (September 30), only window seats will be available on trains operated by South Korea’s national rail operator.
The move to cut capacity in half comes at a time when millions of South Koreans regularly travel back to their hometowns for Chuseok, one of the country’s biggest vacations.
COVID-19 will force many to change their plans.
Nam Seung-in lives in Seoul. He returns to his hometown of Chungju, 113 km away, for what is sometimes referred to as Korean Thanksgiving, and was able to secure one-way train passage.
“I waited for the Chuseok reservations to start early in the morning on September 9 and tried to reserve a seat, but couldn’t get any to get back to Seoul,” he said. “So I’m going to take the train home but I’m back on the bus.”
OUTSIDE A RITUAL
Family members visiting and cleaning ancestral tombs is a big part of Chuseok. But as many are expected to follow the government’s advice not to return to their places of origin, some turn to hired help.
Hired workers mowing grass at a grave site in Yeoncheon, South Korea, ahead of the Chuseok holiday. (Photo: Lim Yun Suk)
As Chuseok approaches, male members of the family typically head to the graves to fix things. The act of cutting the grass and removing weeds is known as Beolcho and is considered an important part of the entire ritual.
Hwang Bong Yeon, who has been performing Beolcho for about five years, says that around 10 members of her family and extended families normally gathered in Yeoncheon, about 100 km from Seoul, to clean the area around the grave where her ancestors , including his grandfather. and father, they are buried.
“But since the government is urging people not to come together for Beolcho, we decided not to get together and instead hire professional workers,” said Mr. Hwang.
“This is the first time we have hired people to do this job. We have always done it ourselves. “
Would Mr. Hwang subcontract the practice again? The reactions of his family members were mixed. “The young people in the family would rather just pay these people and do it,” he said. “But the older members believe it is important to put their hearts and minds into this lawn mowing ceremony and do it sincerely.”
Many other South Koreans find themselves in similar situations, which means business is booming for someone like Park Sang-won.
He and his men have been sleeping for only a few hours every night in the weeks leading up to Chuseok.
“It’s around one in the afternoon and this is already our fifth job of the day. We have been awake since 5 am today, ”he said. “Usually we eat a quick lunch and then we get moving again. That’s how busy we are these days. “
Workers in a cemetery in Yeoncheon before Chuseok, one of the most important holidays in South Korea. South Koreans are turning to professional lawnmowers this year instead of doing the job themselves. (Photo: Lim Yun Suk)
Park said he received between 150 and 200 assignments last year. This year, he and his team have already taken on almost twice as many jobs. And the reservations keep coming.
“Because there are so many people who cannot go by themselves, they are urgently hiring people like us. At this rate, it is very likely that we will be mowing even after Chuseok this year, ”she said.
The cost of Mr Park’s services varies depending on the size and number of graves. The distance your team must travel and the walking distance to the sites is also taken into account.
“This area is considered easy to do. Sometimes we have to cross rough roads or walk through woods and jungles to reach the grave. Those may cost more. But mowing the grass around an ‘easy’ grave will cost around 150,000 won ($ 128). ”
FIRST MAJOR FESTIVAL DURING THE PANDEMIC
After the preparatory ritual that is Beolcho, entire extended families gather in cemeteries during Chuseok to pay their respects to the ancestors.
This is something that the South Korean government is actively discouraging due to the pandemic. In a recent survey of about 1,000 people, 81 percent of those surveyed said they would skip the holidays this year.
“Due to the coronavirus, we will not go to our hometown during Chuseok this year. I don’t think we are welcome either, ”said a woman at a market in Seoul.
Another elderly woman living alone in Seoul said she had told her son and family not to visit her this year because she was afraid of contracting COVID-19.
“It will be uncomfortable for everyone. This time I will pass Chuseok alone, ”she lamented.
READ: Comment: South Korea had COVID-19 under control. And then August passed
READ: Defiant South Korean churches face backlash for hindering response to COVID-19
SMALL BUSINESSES SUFFER
Jeon is a Korean dish made with meat, seafood, or vegetables. The protein or vegetables are seasoned with salt and black pepper, and then covered with a light flour and egg batter, before being fried in oil. The result is a golden pancake that is a ubiquitous dish during Chuseok.
A vendor prepares jeon, a traditional South Korean dish eaten during Chuseok, at the Gwangjang market in Seoul. (Photo: Lim Yun Suk)
Park Keum-soon has a small shop that sells jeon, and like other businesses in traditional markets that sell Chuseok delicacies, profits are down.
“Business is bad for small stores because people don’t want to go out and taste the food or stand in lines to buy it,” he said. “Now they just pick up the phone and order, they don’t come directly.”
Vendors at the Gwangjang Market in Seoul, South Korea, before Chuseok. (Photo: Lim Yun Suk)
This year’s Chuseok is the first major festival South Koreans are celebrating since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out. The next big holiday is less than five months away, when families come together to celebrate the Korean New Year.
Ms. Park, who owns the food stand, hopes business will improve at that point. But with little certainty about how the COVID-19 outbreak will unfold, she waits with great anticipation.
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