A mid-autumn harvest festival, Chuseok is a national holiday celebrated during the eighth month of the lunar calendar (September or October). Meant to be a time of family, friends, and food, many Korean students go home during the multi-day holiday period and celebrate by spending time together as many places like banks, governmental departments, and schools are closed.

These photos are of Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul, where you can walk around the expansive palace complex. Many visitors, my friends and I included, rent traditional hanbok from one of the nearby shops before they explore palace. Word of the wise: we had difficulty finding hanbok skirts and shirts that would fit us, so if you are taller or of a bigger figure than Korean people, you will need to look for a hanbok rental store that caters to bigger sizes. I have heard that the store “YES Hanbok” has hanbok that will fit foreigners, so that is option for those who are tall.