Fighteeng!

42,000 won (or about $36) for one pimped up mango at the Shinsegae dept store.

I’m sure others have blogged about this before, but prices for fruits in Korea are jacked way up in the days leading up to Chuseok.

Korean supermarkets have no problem taking advantage of last minute shoppers like me who need to demonstrate filial piety by way of an overpriced, overpackaged fruit.

I was shocked by the price, but I’m more shocked that there’s such a strong demand for these items, especially in a country where the average salary isn’t much more than $30,000 USD.

I’m tempted to buy one just to see if there might be special packaging of the cash variety inside the fruits as well, then I could gift them to our public officials so I know they’re getting their daily nutrients required to think up of new ways to root out corruption.

140,000 won (or about $120) for a box of 8 Korean Pears. Who buys this stuff??

This being my first Chuseok in Korea, I had several Korean friends inform me that it’s “Korean Thanksgiving”, which explains why everybody goes back home to visit family and gorge on homecooking.  I didn’t think much of it until an article in the Korea Times insisted on the contrary with the title, “Don’t Say Chuseok Is Korean Thanksgiving“.

Some use the term “Korean Thanksgiving” as an informational gateway point. But most foreigners, including Canadian expatriate Jamie Webster, don’t research the holiday in-depth.

“I think it’s similar to Western Thanksgiving, as far as I know,” said the three-year resident of Seoul. “I didn’t really investigate too much.”

According to legend, Chuseok began as a result of a weaving competition held between two princesses in the Silla dynasty. The goal was to see which team could weave the most. The fierce competition lasted for about a month, ending on the 15th day of the 8th month on the lunar calendar during the full moon. As punishment, the losing team had to prepare a bountiful feast for the victors.

This guy would've won the original Chuseok contest had they let guys participate.

I feel better that I’m not the only ignorant one about Chuseok, but now that I know, why does the origin of Chuseok seem like a bad idea for a reward challenge on the TV show Survivor that went into the reject pile?  Who can weave the most??  And for a whole freakin’ month??!!!  I can only imagine that the princesses opted for weaving instead of what the guys wanted, which was probably mudwrestling.

Too bad there’s no modern day equivalent of that original contest, though my wife says the daughter-in-laws usually are the losers by default for having to prepare the majority of the food.