Cooking is a Korean family activity that often brings relatives together to prepare Chuseok foods.
Before and during Chuseok, families commonly work together in the kitchen to prepare dishes for holiday meals and ancestral offerings. The shared labor can include washing ingredients, shaping rice cakes, making pancakes, and arranging food.
The activity is social as well as practical. Relatives who live apart may return to their family homes, and preparing food provides time for conversation across generations. In modern households, families may also buy prepared dishes or divide cooking duties among relatives.
Cooking should not be confused with charye, the ancestral rite in which food is arranged and offered. Food preparation supports the celebration, while charye is the formal ritual itself.