Bay Area’s annual Chuseok Festival brings people together to celebrate Korean culture

By Staffers Sandra Choi & Carol McCarthy

Hosted by the Korean Center, Inc. (KCI), San Francisco’s  Chuseok Festival is Northern CA’s largest celebration of Korean culture and the Chuseok harvest holiday. Falling on the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, Chuseok is a three-day harvest festival celebrated in Korea. The celebration revolves around family gatherings, giving thanks, and praising that year’s bounty. KCI has been hosting the annual Bay Area Chuseok Festival since 2019 and spreads Korean traditions through music, arts, cuisine, and celebration. 

KCI didn’t start as a cultural festival organizer; rather, it was an immigrant services nonprofit founded in 1974. Today, the organization runs the King Sejong Institute Korean language program, senior services, and youth programming. The inaugural festival began with support from local leadership, including former San Francisco District Supervisor Catherine Stefani, who led a call to officially recognize “Korean Chuseok Day.” KCI created its festival to honor the local Korean American community, celebrate heritage, and introduce traditional and contemporary Korean culture to the wider public. 

Starting with 5,000 attendees in 2019, the festival now brings roughly 20,000 attendees from all over CA. This year’s festival featured food vendors, kimchi makers, and skincare brand founders. There were also performances, including Korean traditional dances, K-pop dances, and a calligraphy dance. 

“This event really brings out the type of music that Korean culture has, as well as the food — it’s amazing,” volunteer Stanley Ho said. Vendors sold traditional Korean dishes — including kimbap, tteokbokki, and bibimbap — as well as fusion foods such as Korean-inspired tacos, allowing visitors to experience blends of cultures. At the skincare booth, founders of Lumio, Yususu, and other Korean brands displayed their products. For many of the small businesses, the festival was their first time showcasing their products to the US.