2012/09/23 1st topic Don’t get stuck at home this Chuseok

[Christopher(강경헌)]

Wide variety of events available for expats to enjoy during holidays

After Dillon Jones’ first Chuseok, there was nowhere to go but up.

It was September 2003, and he had just arrived in Seoul from the U.S. about a month earlier. He knew a traditional holiday was coming; for one thing, his Korean-American roommate had left to spend it with his family.

Not having any plans, though, Jones only realized on that day that his employer’s cafeteria would be closed, along with the rest of the restaurants in the area. These days, he refers to that first year’s experience as an “involuntary fast.”

Jones spent his time in their apartment which, lacking cable, only had a pair of Korean-language channels.

“I basically watched those channels even though I didn’t understand anything,” he said.

However, those on the screen were in full traditional garb and were participating in events related to the holiday, so “it gave me a sense of what Chuseok is about,” he said.

The next year it got better, though, as a Korean family invited him and some of his co-workers to spend the holiday with them. Over the next year, he would meet Jeong In-sun, who in 2006 would become his wife.

Since their marriage they have spent the holidays with her family, braving the holiday traffic between Seoul and Gwangju each year.

“It’s a lot of food and a lot of sleep,” he said of celebrating the holiday with his new family. “Which is perhaps different from the United States. There you eat and watch (the Dallas Cowboys) play somebody.”

In 2009 Jones and Jeong’s son, Sunon Daniel Jones, was born, making each Chuseok since quite a bit more active. But for both of them, used to working over the holidays to finish projects and supplement their income, it’s a welcome reprieve. Furthermore, Jones said his new family has never made him feel anything but welcome

“I’m sure they recognize that I’m different, but it’s great to be accepted into the family,” he said.

Different expats, different plans

There are many types of expatriates in Korea, of which the long-term resident who has started a family, like Jones, is but one. And there are about as many ways of spending Chuseok in Korea as there are foreigners in Korea. Suzanne Mattern, who has been here 18 months, will be spending it with her mother Maria, who is traveling here for the first time.

“Of course, an afternoon touring Gyeongbokgung is necessary along with the Hangul Museum underneath King Sejong’s statue (near) City Hall,” she said. “While in that area we will eat traditional samgyetang. We will take the USO trip to the DMZ along with a day at the Seoul Museum of Modern Art.

“There are so many great attractions and activities to experience while in Korea,” she said. “I hope that my mom gets to see how much Korea has progressed in such a short amount of time.”

Even more numerous than English teachers in Korea are migrant workers, most of whom arrive from other nations in Asia. Some places, such as the Gwangju International Center in South Jeolla Province, have already hosted Chuseok events welcoming them.

In some cases, the larger community that those workers belong to takes advantage of the time off to host events. Over the past seven years, one example of this has been the Indonesian community. An employee at the Indonesian Embassy said that about 1,500-2,000 Indonesian nationals are expected to gather in the cities of Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, and Busan on Sept. 11-12.

There they will hear a speech from popular religious figures on good citizenship.

“As part of our duty in educating and protecting our nationals abroad, we want the Indonesian people here to have good conduct and respect the law,” she said.

“So, usually, together with our community we invited a quite famous religious lecturer from Indonesia to give a motivational speech at the event.”

References site)

http://khnews.kheraldm.com/kh/view.php?ud=20110909000790&cpv=0&md=20110909210034_9

http://khnews.kheraldm.com/kh/view.php?ud=20110909000666&cpv=0&md=20110909194314_9

Question>>

1. which moment of Chuseok in your life time do you feel most memorable so far?

What happened at that day?

2. In Chuseok, people generally meet their relatives or stay home with their families. How about you?

3. How do you plan to spend this year's Chuseok?

4. Is there any meaningful holiday for you other than Chuseok? If yes, what is the reason? OR Is there

any special day for a year?

5. After Chuseok, people usually get sick because they're going back to work after a long break. How about you and how do you overcome this aftermath? Suggest any good ways to overcome this phenomena if you have.

topic_9_23.hwp

[권혜진(Jamie)]

스피디 스피디 ㅋㅋㅋㅋ 아마 몇개씩 topic을 저장해 두고 계시는 중? ㅋㅋㅋ

[Daunte]

크리스토퍼형 열심히 하는 모습 좋아요 일영모 추천장 드릴까요? 좋은 하루 보내세요

[Choro-이철호]

이번주는 크리스토퍼 형이 제 대신 올린 겁니다. 전 다음으로 연기를 ㅋㅋㅋ

[무브무브(윤현지)]

토픽 중복안되게 찾아올리는것도 은근 일일텐데 매번 수고많으세요ㅠㅠ 감사합니다~!

[scott(박범석)]

형님 ㅠ 공로상 드려야 되는 거 아닌가 이거 ㅠㅠ 감사합니다 ㅎㅎ

[Christopher(강경헌)]

thanks for replys~~!^^

[Vuitton(김소윤)]

옵빠!!토픽땡큐
이제 열공해요 와우~~~^◇^