Mon 12 Sep 2022. The journey from the UK to Korea was always going to involve a cultural leap. But I’m now travelling from a nation in mourning to one celebrating its biggest traditional holiday, Chuseok (추석), the annual Harvest Moon Festival. I had delayed my flight until now to avoid landing during the migration and disruption which accompanies Chuseok. And so unexpectedly I found myself able to step back into parish life last week following the Queen’s death.
I don’t feel able completely to put behind me what my own country is going through. And actually it is news as much in South Korea as the rest of the world.
And so South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol (윤석열) visited the British Embassy in Seoul the day after the Queen’s death, to sign the Book of Condolence. And yesterday he announced he would attend the funeral in London a week today. The Queen’s visit to South Korea in April 1999 appears to have made quite an impact on her. Next Monday’s funeral will be at 19:00 Korean Standard Time (KST) and I’m assuming I will find a way to watch it.
My journey to Korea 