In September there are seasonal subdivisions of Paengno and Chubun.
Paengno means the time when clear dew falls with a sign of autumn. Chubun means that summer completely gives way to autumn. On the day of Chubun the length of day and night is almost the same and afterwards days gradually get shorter than nights.
This year’s Paengno and Chubun fall on September 7 and September 23 respectively.
From olden times, the Korean people gathered foxtail millet and other crops and sowed wheat and barley and they picked cotton in some regions in that period.
Medicinal herbs and wild fruits were gathered in mountainous regions.
Around Chubun, rice was harvested in paddy fields, soybean and other crops were gathered from dry fields and wheat and barley were planted in real earnest.
September 25 this year is Chusok (Harvest Moon Day), one of the greatest folk holidays of the Korean people.
Chusok means autumn evening and the Korean people enjoyed the folk holiday viewing the full moon in autumn when all kinds of cereals ripen. On the holiday, they first visited their forefathers’ graves to cut grass of them and hold memorial services arranging offerings made of new crops of the year. This was a reflection of the ennobling good manners and customs of the Korean people who always respect seniors and are polite and faithful to duty.