WASHINGTON, DC.- The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art presents its annual celebration of Chuseok, or Korean Thanksgiving, featuring music and dance performances, family-friendly activities, art and food vendors, hands-on crafts and more. Free and open to the public, the festival will be held Saturday, Sept. 19, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is centered on the art of Tal (탈), or Korean masks. The festival brings this centuries-old tradition to a contemporary stage with a headlining performance by Insun Park & Generals.

Traveling to Washington, D.C., from Seoul, South Korea, the group blends Korean traditional music, mask dance rhythms and contemporary rock. Lead singer Insun Park, a master of Korea’s renowned Gangnyeong mask dance tradition, incorporates dance throughout the performance.

Additional musical performances co-presented by the Korean Cultural Center Washington, D.C. will take place on the museum’s outdoor plaza, including a K-Pop set by DJ EPX and performances by the Korean Performing Arts Institute of Chicago and Gumwoo Washington Gayageum Ensemble. The plaza will also host food vendors and a marketplace, curated by local organization SAMASAMA, featuring kimchi, handmade jewelry, Korean oracle readings and other goods from local vendors.

Inside, visitors will encounter a recreation of an ancestral memorial table used during Charye (차례), one of the central traditional ceremonies observed during Chuseok, and a display of traditional Korean masks. An array of mask-making activities and mask-themed giveaways will also celebrate the Tal theme. Conservation and docent talks will spotlight objects from the museum’s Korean collection.





Family-friendly activities throughout the day will include story time featuring Korean fairy tales and folktales, a scavenger hunt and other hands-on activities inspired by the museum’s collections.

Associated with the harvest, Chuseok, which translates to “autumn evening,” is a time for families to gather and give thanks to their ancestors. Together with Lunar New Year, it is one of the most important holidays in Korea. South Koreans celebrate the holiday over three days, on the eighth month of the lunar calendar when the moon is at its fullest.

The museum’s Chuseok Family Festival has become one of its signature annual community celebrations, welcoming thousands of visitors each year to experience Korean traditions through art, music and hands-on learning. In addition to the festival, the museum provides many digital resources to learn about Chuseok, such as virtual tours of related collections, lesson plans and videos.

In conjunction with the festival, the museum will present Korean films and concerts throughout September and October, including a screening of the Korean documentary, The Seoul Guardians, Sunday, Sept. 27, and the horror film, Train to Busan, Friday, Oct. 30. A concert featuring the Korean pop band Leenalchi will kick off the museum’s Meyer concert spotlights season Thursday, Oct. 8. More information on these October events will be posted here in coming weeks.