KCCNYC COMMUNITY NEWS - Oct 2025 — Korean Culture Center NYC

KOREAN DAY FESTIVAL

By Nicolette Shin (신은혜)

It takes a village to raise (and run) a tent for a festival. It may not have the same ring to it as the original saying, but boy is it true, as this past Saturday I saw it happen with my own eyes. From Zoom meetings, where we planned the activities to do and the aesthetics of the tent itself, to volunteers offering their time and support to run and represent the booth, there were so many jigsaw pieces to a seemingly never-ending puzzle. Like little worker ants, volunteers lined up and brought equipment over, bit by bit, putting the tent together, piece by piece, until step by step, we succeeded in turning the tent into our ‘home’ for the day. When passersby joined us to play games, take classes, and learn more about KCCNYC, it felt like the final piece popped into our puzzle, and we got to watch all our hard labor come to fruition.

But what was all this for? Well, this year KCCNYC took part in the Korean Festival and Parade hosted by KAAGNY on October 4, 2025. This event was a way to highlight Korean culture and, coinciding with Chuseok, it was a wonderful way to celebrate the holiday. For anyone reading this who doesn’t know, Chuseok is a long-established holiday in Korea that signifies a time of reflection and connection. With an extensive history and countless traditions, it is a time to pay respects to deceased ancestors, play games with loved ones, and share a meal together – a time of stillness and gratitude to be together celebrating another year and bountiful harvest.

Although not a typical celebration of Chuseok, I believe our event still hits all the markers of what makes Chuseok such an important holiday. Our booth hosted a variety of traditional games played during Chuseok such as yunori, gonggi, and jegichagi. It was wonderful watching so many people partake in all the games we had to share. Seeing visitors with childlike wonder learn and discover a game new to them, but that has existed for generations, was a joy to witness. While for another person, they were able to dust off a childhood memory and flex their muscle memory rekindling a love for a game maybe forgotten. Even a game as seemingly simple as ddakji (the Squid Game game with folded squares) left many addicted and coming back for “just one more round”…myself included (my arm is still sore).

At some point, I decided to take a break from giving myself a lobster claw arm and ate some of the delectable songpyeon that a classmate and friend made. As I chewed on this type of tteok typically served during Chuseok, I watched as our Seonsaengnim (head instructor Eun-Byoul) taught a condensed language lesson to people with nothing but a spark to try and learn Korean. I found myself drifting away to munch on memories of when I first joined this culture center. As someone who found this organization to learn Korean, like many others who are now a part of this community, I thought how even just that shortened session can be the ignition for someone to start their own Korean language journey and could maybe even lead them on a path back to us here at KCCNYC.

Throughout the day I got to see families enjoy time together as they walked through the festival. Seeing the dichotomy of a family, where half are dressed in hanboks while the others in casual clothes, just emphasized how celebrating Chuseok in a modern Korean-American way can be such a blended experience. That Saturday, I wore a ring my Halmoni gave to my mother before she passed away and wore a hanbok for the first time, as my own way to honor and pay my respects. Although non-traditional I believe it still encompasses the sentiment of what Chuseok is about: honoring those who have passed; the traditions we cherish yesterday today and tomorrow; and being grateful for the people we have chosen to be our family — whatever that family may mean to you.

*Chuseok looks from Traditional to Modern Hanbok*

In honor of Chuseok, I want to say how thankful I am to KCCNYC family. It has brought so many wonderful people I may have never met into my life and provided me with a deeper appreciation for my Korean heritage. At the risk of sounding sentimental, it really is so wonderful witnessing a group of people bonded by Korean language classes and a kinship to Korean culture, whether it be because of family, friends, self-discovery, or having an appreciation for Hallyu (The Korean Culture Wave), come together with so much love for this special organization. Seeing so many people come together at our humble tent was a testament and reminder of the many hearts KCCNYC has touched.