The approaching Chuseok holiday is a time of the year that Koreans press pause in their busy day-to-day life and appreciate traditional values of their family, communities and the nation as a whole.

Many families visit palaces and famous historic sites during the holiday, usually after performing ancestral rites in the morning of Chuseok, which this year falls on Friday.

One of the popular destinations is Namsangol Hanok Village in central Seoul, a traditional village that shows what life was during the Joseon era (1392-1910).

To welcome Chuseok, one of the two biggest holidays in Korea along with the Lunar New Year, the village rolls out a variety of special programs for visitors, most of them free of charge, on top of its regular programs such as hanbok dress-up and tea ceremonies.

On Thursday, there will be a series of cooking classes offered for visitors for a fee of 10,000 won per person, with limited 50 to 25 seats per session. Advance booking is recommended. 



Friday has free outdoor performances, including a tightrope walk and Yangju sonorigut, a combination of shamanistic rites and folk drama performed by people of Yangju for the good harvest.

Traditional music, dance and food will be aplenty on Saturday, with a jeon (Korean pancakes) festival from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., a night market from 4 p.m. till 9:30 p.m. and two special performances of gugak, Korean traditional music, and contemporary gugak crossovers.

For more information, visit www.hanokmaeul.or.kr/ or call (02) 2261-0500. Namsangol Hanok Village is within the walking distance from Chungmuro Subway Station, Exit No. 4.