During the Chuseok holidays, families reunite for a traditional grass-cutting ceremony at their ancestors’ graves in preparation for (추석)Chuseok and the arrival of autumn. The ceremony is one of the most important events in the Jeju calendar.
This year, the ritual is being observed in a different form due to COVID-19.
As social distancing is discouraging travel to the island from the mainland, grass-cutting agencies have seen an increase in business.
Mike Laidman reports.
Grass, having grown thick and long over the past year, gets cut down to size at this grave site. In addition, weeds that have set up house in the low stone walls are pulled and things in general are tidied up.
These workers currently cutting the overgrown foliage are in fact not relatives of the deceased, but employees of a grass-cutting business. With autumn well on its way, such businesses are thriving as Chuseok preparations start.
It is, somewhat ironically, the current COVID-19 situation which is making business for those in the grass world boom this year.
With social distancing measures discouraging visits to the island from the capital area, grass-cutting businesses are happy to step in.
More than 400 bookings have been made for the grass-cutting service provided by the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation. Some branches, including (효돈) Hyodon and (중문) Jungmun, are already fully booked.
The time between this coming weekend and the Chuseok holidays will be the biggest time of the year for grass-cutting in Jeju.
The National Agricultural Cooperative Federation expects its number of bookings to top 1,500 this year.
Now the global pandemic is putting its mark on an old Jeju Island tradition.
Mike Laidman, KCTV