7 Chuseok phrases for Korea's harvest holiday

Have a happy Chuseok.

The everyday greeting, for colleagues, neighbours and the person at the shop, in the days before the holiday. 추석 잘 보내세요 (chuseok jal bonaeseyo, spend Chuseok well) is the shorter, equally common version.

Wishing you an abundant Chuseok.

Literally: Become a bountiful Hangawi.

한가위 is the old native name for the holiday, and this is the wording of banners, company messages and greeting cards. Slightly formal and a little poetic; it is what you write rather than what you say over coffee.

Are you going back to your hometown?

Literally: Going down to the hometown?

The question of the week before. 내려가다 (go down) is used whichever direction the hometown is, because Seoul is up. The answer tends to include how many hours the drive took last year.

Try some songpyeon.

The half-moon rice cakes filled with sesame or bean that define the holiday; families used to make them together the night before, and many still do. 드시다 is the honorific of 먹다 (to eat), so this is for guests and elders.

Does your family hold the ancestral rite?

차례 is the memorial table set for ancestors on the morning of Chuseok. It is a fair question now, because many families have simplified it or stopped, and the answer tells you a lot about a household without anyone having to explain.

So when are you getting married?

Casual speech (반말), because it is an aunt or uncle saying it to you across the table. It is the dreaded 명절 question, along with 취직은 했어? (got a job yet?), and the stock reply is a smile and 아직이요 (ajigiyo, not yet).

Did you have a good holiday?

The greeting for the first day back at work. 명절 covers both Chuseok and Lunar New Year, so the same sentence works twice a year. The honest answer is usually about traffic and in-laws, so a polite 네, 잘 보냈어요 is the normal one.