Gahh... I've been scrabbling to upload this even though it's the middle of the week because today is Chuseok or the Harvest Moon Festival! Chuseok is, roughly speaking, the Korean equivalent to Thanksgiving but with much more cultural significance. Besides giving thanks for the year's good harvest, it is also to commemorate their ancestors by "inviting" them to visit with delicious foods and a little ceremony (jesa). You can do jesa at your ancestors' graves or at home with a little table of food set out for your ancestors to partake. For this ceremony, many chicas wear hanboks, since it is just about one of the only times of the year to wear it ;)
Traditionally, hanbok makeup required red or dark lipstick to give that 'formal' air with your hair tightly pulled back in a low bun with no bangs. I went the traditional route with my hair just for kicks...it was a pain getting all those unruly strands pinned back :P You can't see it but I have about 20 bobby pins in my hair. Nowadays, though older women and performers still wear hanbok makeup this way, girls in their twenties and teen usually go for the "naturally wholesome, healthy and innocent" look - big surprise there huh ;)? Hanbok hairstyles have gotten more lax too but personally I think it's best to wear hair pulled back at least a bit to show off the hanbok :] Lots of girls do braids now with their hanbok.
In honor of Chuseok I put together a vid where I attempted to roll Chuseok trivia and a makeup tutorial into one...so it's a lot longer than I'd like :P But I hope you guys like ^_^v!
The look I do in this tutorial is basically a very natural look or as Koreans like to say "bare face makeup." Hence all the contouring and highlighting :) (though I think I may have gone overboard with the contouring *sigh*) and I also just realized I forgot to highlight my browbone :P I must practice this filming thing more~
Traditionally, hanbok makeup required red or dark lipstick to give that 'formal' air with your hair tightly pulled back in a low bun with no bangs. I went the traditional route with my hair just for kicks...it was a pain getting all those unruly strands pinned back :P You can't see it but I have about 20 bobby pins in my hair. Nowadays, though older women and performers still wear hanbok makeup this way, girls in their twenties and teen usually go for the "naturally wholesome, healthy and innocent" look - big surprise there huh ;)? Hanbok hairstyles have gotten more lax too but personally I think it's best to wear hair pulled back at least a bit to show off the hanbok :] Lots of girls do braids now with their hanbok.
In honor of Chuseok I put together a vid where I attempted to roll Chuseok trivia and a makeup tutorial into one...so it's a lot longer than I'd like :P But I hope you guys like ^_^v!
[I'm not very happy with this tutorial, as it was the very first one I recorded.
I'll redo this look some time soon.]
I'll redo this look some time soon.]
The look I do in this tutorial is basically a very natural look or as Koreans like to say "bare face makeup." Hence all the contouring and highlighting :) (though I think I may have gone overboard with the contouring *sigh*) and I also just realized I forgot to highlight my browbone :P I must practice this filming thing more~
I got this hanbok made at Namdaemun Market in Seoul, Korea for a pittance :D I like it a lot although I wish I picked more cheerful colors...I must have been in an emo mood when I picked the fabric ^^
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| I can never get the bow right :( |
Chuseok can be a pain for wives (especially the wife married to the eldest son) in 'really' traditional families though because they have make a buttload of food for the ceremonies and families coming over. And some have to make all this food in a hanbok - yeah, imagine sweating all day in the kitchen in a floor length dress :P In fact, it was once said that Chuseuk was "a man's holiday." Thankfully, in modern times you can often pre-order most of the food and wear the hanbok for just the ceremonies :) Despite the patriarchal overtones, overall, Chuseok is about family - even moreso in Korea than in America. In Korea, the three days are spent not just eating delectable traditional foods but also tidying up your ancestors' graves (aka trimming the grass, doing jesa etc) and just chillin' with family you may only see once a year :)
Here's a pretty good read about what Chuseok is like for the curious and bored ^_^ Anyway, I hope everyone is having a good week.
추석 잘 보내세요!
(Have a good Chuseok!)