5/13/2023 0 Comments New Moon by Young Kim![]() ![]() “Are you two doing a gwisin (ghost) concept?” my mom yelled from the kitchen. But I was utterly mystified (I will need to write a separate post with updates about an avatar I am developing, Somu, who is a young maiden and shaman girl from medieval Korea based off my Fulbright research). I, on the other hand, was mesmerized with Somu’s dress (pictured as feature image), which, confirmed by my own eyes, created a sense of magic difficult to describe. My sister imitates a modern Korean lady with her hot pink clutch. My dad could not resist the urge to imitate being a Grim Reaper, bursting out in the absurdity of it all. When we dug out my parents’ old hanboks from the garage, we were suddenly reminded as a family how a piece of heritage that we always carried within us could still be new and re-discovered for the very first time. It is a confrontation of change, to which one might feel without control. And, often times, such traditional holidays tend to emphasize difference between generations, a multi-century, cataclysmic split, and reminder of lost customs. Certain cultural traditions carried with it a weight of obligation that is difficult to burden when having immigrated to another country, morphing into complex feelings that are easier left avoided. My parents had not opened nor seen their old hanboks in many years. ![]() This year had its own color, its own flair. A peaceful evening with my aunt (while my cousins and uncle were out for jesa with their paternal side of the family) Chuseok with my mom, dad, and sister ![]()
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