By Min Yea-Ji and Lee Jihae

With Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) running this year from Sept. 12-14, Korea.net has compiled tips for both Koreans and foreign residents alike to enjoy and get more out of the holiday.

National folk museums will host traditional folk games and demonstrations of seasonal customs. Thirteen such venues including Gyeongju National Museum in Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, Gwangju National Museum and the National Folk Museum in Seoul will hold programs on such games on Sept. 12, 14 and 15. (These venues are closed on Chuseok Day on Sept. 13).

Such programs will feature games such as arrow throwing, rolling a hoop and flying a kite as well as performing arts such as nongak (traditional farmer's music), ganggangsullae (a circular group dance to celebrate a bountiful harvest), the tightrope art jultagi, the one-person lyrical opera pansori and the traditional percussion quartet samulnori.

The National Folk Museum on Sept. 10 has scheduled an event geared toward foreign participants for making songpyeon (staple rice cakes of Chuseok) from 2 to 4 p.m.

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art's branches in Seoul, Gwacheon, Gyeonggi-do Province, Deoksugung Palace in the capital and Cheongju, Chungcheongbuk-do Province, will also have free admission during the Chuseok holiday period (Sept. 12-14), and be open on Chuseok Day.

Also offering free admission over the same period are the Seoul palaces of Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, Changgyeonggung and Deoksugung, Jongmyo Shrine and the Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty.




For both children and those young at heart, theme parks in the Seoul metropolitan area are providing discounts during the Chuseok period. Lotte World in Seoul, Everland and Caribbean Bay in Yongin and Seoul Land in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi-do Province will offer admission discounts for expats of up to 60% if they show their certificates of foreigner registration. The discounts apply exclusively to foreign residents of Korea, not tourists.

Public transportation will remain open later during the Chuseok holiday, with subways and buses in Seoul from Sept. 13-14 to run until 2 a.m. Late-night "owl buses" and approximately 3,100 late-night taxis will keep regular hours over the same period.

Medical services will also be available during the holiday nationwide, with 521 emergency centers to run 24 hours a day as usual; certain facilities will remain open on Chuseok Day. To find the name, location and operating hours of a hospital or pharmacy from Sept. 12-14, just type "명절병원" (holiday hospital) on the web.

jesimin@korea.kr