Traditions of Seoul
A palace-and-skyscraper capital where Chuseok, kimchi-making and the hanbok are alive in the modern city.
Seoul has been the capital of Korea for over six hundred years. Its royal palaces, hanok neighbourhoods and market streets share the skyline with towers. Korean festivals, such as Seollal and Chuseok, bring millions out of the city to their family homes, and the traditional clothing, hanbok, is worn on holidays.
Seollal and Chuseok
At Seollal, the lunar new year, families bow to their elders in a deep sebae and receive money and blessings, then eat tteokguk, rice cake soup. At Chuseok, the harvest festival in autumn, they honour ancestors with food at a table, visit graves and share songpyeon, half-moon rice cakes filled with sesame or chestnut.
At the table
A Korean meal is rice, soup and many small dishes, banchan, with kimchi at the centre. Kimjang, the winter making of kimchi, is a community tradition recognised by UNESCO. Bibimbap, bulgogi and tteokbokki are favourites. Tea houses serve jujube and ginseng drinks.
Signature traditions of Seoul
ChuseokThe harvest festival.
HanbokThe traditional Korean dress.
Jongmyo jeryeThe royal ancestral rite.Also part of it, and being written: Seollal (The Korean lunar new year.), Kimjang (The making of kimchi.).
A trail idea for Seoul
- Gyeongbokgung Palace Watch the royal guard changing ceremony.
- Bukchon Hanok Village Walk among the traditional houses.
- Gwangjang Market Eat mung bean pancakes and kimbap.
Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Opening hours, markets and festival dates change; check locally before travelling. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
๐ฐ๐ท Seoul, South Korea and 1 moreTalchumํ์ถค
A Korean mask dance drama in which masked actors sing, dance and mock the powerfulPerformance
๐ฐ๐ท Seoul, South KoreaTemplestayํ
ํ์คํ
์ด
A program that invites visitors to live in South Korean Buddhist temples and join the daily routines of monastic life.Spiritual ยท Dinner
๐ฏ๐ต Aomori, JapanAomori Nebuta Matsuri้ๆฃฎใญใถใ็ฅญ
A summer festival in Aomori featuring large warrior floats and dancing participants.Festival
๐ฐ๐ท Seoul, South KoreaYeondeunghoe์ฐ๋ฑํ
A Korean lantern festival celebrating the Buddha's birthday with glowing lotus lightsSpiritual
๐ฐ๐ท Seoul, South KoreaYunnori์ท๋์ด
A Korean board and stick-tossing game played with tokens during the Lunar New YearGame
๐ฐ๐ท Honam, South Korea and 2 morePansoriํ์๋ฆฌ
A Korean art of sung storytelling, with one singer, one drummer and a listening crowdPerformance
๐ฐ๐ท Seoul, South KoreaJongmyo jerye์ข
๋ฌ ์ ๋ก
Ancestral rite for Korea's Joseon kings, with court music and a line dance, held in SeoulSpiritual
๐จ๐ณ China and 2 moreGoๅๆฃ (wรฉiqรญ), ๅฒ็ข (igo), ๋ฐ๋ (baduk)
Two players surround territory with black and white stones on a lined boardGame
๐ฐ๐ท South KoreaKorean tea ceremony๋ค๋ก (่ถ็ฆฎ)
Tea served in Korea as a rite of courtesy, now mostly grain and herbal brewsTable custom ยท Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
๐ฐ๐ท Seoul, South Korea and 1 moreMarriage in Korea
Weddings in Korea, from Goryeo matchmaking to Confucian rites and modern chapel vowsRite of passage
๐ฐ๐ท Seoul, South Korea and 2 moreHangul Dayํ๊ธ๋
South Korea's public day for Hangul, the Korean alphabet, kept on 9 OctoberFestival
๐ฐ๐ท Seoul, South Korea and 1 moreNational Liberation Day of Korea๊ด๋ณต์ (Gwangbokjeol)
A public holiday on 15 August marking Korea's liberation from Japanese rule in 1945Ceremony
๐ฐ๐ท Seoul, South KoreaJultagi์คํ๊ธฐ (eoreum)
A traditional Korean tightrope performance that combines acrobatics with music and storytelling.Performance
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Yeondeunghoe: Korea.net / Korean Culture and Information Service (Jeon Han), CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Jultagi: Korea.net / Korean Culture and Information Service, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Hanbok: DongyiKoguryo, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Yunnori: ๊ตญ๋ฆฝ๊ตญ์ด์, CC BY-SA 2.0 kr, source
- Chuseok: by Joseph Steinberg (Baltimoron in Korea) at Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Talchum: originally by photoren, CC BY 2.0, source
- Templestay: (c)ํ๊ตญ๋ถ๊ต๋ฌธํ์ฌ์ ๋จ, culturalcorpsofkoreanbuddhism, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Aomori Nebuta Matsuri: Fisherman, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Pansori: Steve46814, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Jongmyo jerye: David McNally, USAG-Yongsan, Public domain, source
- Go: Goban1, Public domain, source
- Korean tea ceremony: Mai-Linh Doan, CC BY-SA 1.0, source
- Marriage in Korea: Jรฉrรดme Banal ( Eden2004 ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Hangul Day: Korea.net / Korean Culture and Information Service (Jeon Han), CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- National Liberation Day of Korea: Korea.net / Korean Culture and Information Service, CC BY-SA 2.0, source