South Koreans in Vietnam celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival

According to the South Korean woman, songpyeon - made from rice powder and filled with red bean, mung bean, or black sesame paste - is a must-have dish at Chuseok (South Korean Mid-Autumn Festival).

Chuseok is an occasion for South Koreans to celebrate their harvest and gather with family members. Local people often visit their deceased relatives’ graves and offer food to show their gratitude towards their ancestors. They also send their relatives and friends gifts, often food that can be consumed within the week, including songpyeon, ginseng, beef, or fruits.

Songpyeon made by Kim Youn Kyong’s family, who came to live in HCMC 10 years ago, on September 28, 2023. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Ngan

Kim said that she was surprised and slightly disappointed on her first Mid-Autumn Festival in Vietnam, since everyone was still working, compared to how people at home have three to four days off to return to their hometowns and visit their families.

The whole family then prepares up to 20 different dishes, and have three- to four-hour-long meals together to talk after a long time of not seeing one another.

But Kim gradually adopted the way Vietnamese people celebrate, which is more simple and relaxed compared to how the South Koreans mark the festival.

She said she sends gifts and calls her friends over the phone to wish them a happy holiday now, and her four-member family only prepares a few dishes to enjoy the day - including fish, kimchi, soybean paste, and several types of soup. They also have mung bean songpyeon with tea for dessert.

"We celebrate Chuseok in a more peaceful and less pressured manner," she said.

According to the HCMC Union of Friendship Organizations, the city currently accommodates around 90,000 people from South Korea, the majority of whom reside in District 7 and District 2.

Kim Byong Sun, professor at the HCMC University of Social Sciences and Humanity, said most South Koreans in Vietnam are small families or single people who are open to a more modern lifestyle.

As the Mid-Autumn Festival is not recognized as a public holiday in Vietnam, many overseas South Koreans gradually drop the habit of returning to South Korea to visit their families.

"South Koreans in Vietnam now celebrate Chuseok traditionally but more simply," the professor said.

Kim and his wife are planning to enjoy dinner with some friends at a restaurant in HCMC’s District 1 as well, instead of staying home as is South Korean tradition.

Professor Kim Byong Sun (far L) and wife having a meal with their friends in HCMC ahead of the Mid-Autumn Festival. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Ngan

Oh Min Seok, 24, who came to Vietnam a year ago to start his academic course, is another example of South Koreans who have adopted Vietnamese Mid-Autumn Festival traditions.

He said he really enjoys the festive atmosphere in HCMC’s District 5 as he and eight other friends from South Korea wandered along the district’s Luong Nhu Hoc street.

"I was surprised with how the streets are so full of joy and laughter," he said.

He added that those who do not manage to return to their hometown on Chuseok in South Korea often find it extremely lonely, since they will be the only ones left in the metropolitan areas while everyone else is back at their home towns.

That is not the case in Vietnam, he said. Vietnamese streets are even more lively during the festival, with mooncake stores on the sidewalks, coffee shops decorated with colorful lanterns, and young women dressing up to take photos with the decorations. The South Korean student feels his mood is boosted thanks to those things.

Oh also tried Vietnamese mooncakes instead of songpyeon this Mid-Autumn Festival. He found the cuisine "pretty tasty," even though a few friends think the dish is too sweet for South Koreans.

But that does not mean Chuseok has lost its values for overseas South Koreans.

Kim Dong Hwan, a 41-year-old executive in a South Korean-owned company in Thu Duc City said he only realized Chuseok was approaching as his co-workers greeted one another with happy holiday wishes.

Kim Dong Hwan (second from L) having a meal with his family in the South Korean city Daegu in January, 2023. Photo courtesy of Kim

He married a Vietnamese woman in 2018 and has been celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival with his in-laws ever since. He is now familiar with simply enjoying a meal with his family instead of preparing a huge number of different dishes.

Still, he often misses his family in South Korea the most during the festival, as Chuseok is a holiday for family gatherings in his home country. He has maintained the habit of having a video call with his family on the occasion to send them wishes and chat about their lives.

"My family’s bonds keep me warm despite staying far from home," he said.