Chuseok & Lunar New Year

Chuseok (추석), the harvest festival, falls on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, usually mid-September to early October. Families gather, visit ancestral graves, share songpyeon rice cakes, and dress in autumn-toned hanbok: amber, gold, deep red, jade.

Seollal (설날), the Lunar New Year, falls in late January or February. Younger family members perform sebae, a deep New Year bow, to elders in exchange for words of blessing and small envelopes of money. Seollal hanbok runs lighter: pastel pinks, soft blues, fresh whites, gentle greens.

Holiday hanbok is meant to be worn together. We routinely dress whole families, six, eight, ten people, in coordinated palettes that photograph beautifully and feel cohesive across generations.

How to wear it.

For Chuseok, lean into autumn colors. A father in indigo, a mother in amber, children in saekdong stripes against a warm cream base. Add subtle accessories: brass binyeo, a single norigae.

For Seollal, the palette brightens. Children traditionally wear bright saekdong; adults wear softer pastels, soft pink, pale jade, ivory. Sebae practice happens in the morning, so plan the photographs early before the day’s celebrations.

If you are dressing more than four people, send us the family list and event date as early as possible. Coordinated palettes take a little extra time to source and inspect.