King Yuri is traditionally credited with establishing the weaving contest that inspired Chuseok’s Gabae origin story.
According to the Samguk sagi, King Yuri of Silla organized women into two groups during the seventh lunar month. They competed in weaving for about a month, with the contest ending on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month. The losing group reportedly prepared food and entertainment for the winners.
This story is often presented as one historical explanation for Chuseok, although the modern holiday also reflects older harvest and ancestor-veneration traditions. Gabae is therefore an origin legend rather than a complete account of every practice associated with Chuseok today.
King Yuri ruled Silla in the early first century CE. He should not be confused with King Sejong, who lived more than a thousand years later and is associated with the creation of Hangul.