The Marmot’s Hole

Over at his blog, Prince Roy writes:

You laowai who complain about how Chinese always treat you as outsiders ought to be careful what you wish for. Sometimes it’s good to be on the periphery. Especially as the Mid Autumn Festival looms large. Right now every Chinese I know is in a frenzy buying expensive mooncake packages to present every family friend, acquaintance, and person who has done them a good turn in the past or whose help they may need in the future. Or to whom they think might be bringing them a box of mooncakes. Everyone is in a mad dash to outdo everyone else, be it in the reputation of the mooncake bakery or the extravagance of the wrapping. And for what? Mooncakes have to be the most vile, least anticipated holiday fare in the lunar calendar. I know what you’re thinking: Mooncakes are nothing more than the Chinese version of the obnoxious Christmas fruitcake. I get that. So what’s the difference? Well for one thing, in the West it’s not all that difficult to opt out of the annual vicious circle of holiday cards and fruitcakes. You just don’t reciprocate and gradually people get the message. I wonder if the Chinese have that option.

Now, I take issue with Prince Roy in that I personally break for mooncakes - I think they rock, despite being connected with a pernicious anti-Mongolian legend. However, he IS correct in pointing out that their are times when it’s good to be a weigugin (gaijin, laowai, etc). Despite being a time for family, Ch’usok - Korea’s very own autumn festival - isn’t without its drawbacks. First off, you have the “Great Hangawi Migration” - Seoul empties out, you have 39,000,000 people hitting the roads (during a three day period), train tickets have been sold out for a month, and if you’re lucky, the drive to Kwangju from the nation’s capital will only take you nine hours. Look at the photo for yourself - people actually have picnics waiting for the traffic to move. Gift giving can be a burden (just ask President Noh), especially given the current economic climate, although some people have come up with some pretty creative ways to earn a little extra holiday cash:

On another front, the shallow pockets have led to a spate of robberies. Police say a thief named Cha stole a friend’s taxi and picked up fares to raise money to cover his Chusok expenses. “Cha stole the taxi on Monday and drove around colleting fares but was caught red-handed later in the afternoon,” an officer at the Seoul Kwanak police station said yesterday.

Well, it’s better than selling crack. For the married ladies out there, you get to spend hours in the kitchen - expect little help from your husbands, and for the single ladies of marrying age, expect to be asked a gazzillion times why you aren’t married yet.

Of course, this is hardly a flattering picture of the holiday - in all seriousness, I love Ch’usok, and I do regret not being able to really participate in the celebrations in the same way locals can. Still, cultural isolation does come with its perks.