Search

      Yin Yu Tang: A Chinese Home is closed to the public from 7/27-7/31 and 8/3-8/7

      Buy tickets

      For families

      Chuseok Festival

      Saturday, September 26, 2026 from 10 am—5 pm

      Add to calendar

      Apple

      Google

      Outlook
      Colorful hanging scroll depicting Korean Nectar Ritual

      Know before you go

       

      Location: Main Atrium, Create Space Studios

      All activities are included with admission.

      Presented in English and Korean with live English translation.

      Artists in Korea, Nectar Ritual (gamnotaeng) hanging scroll, 1744. Ink and pigment on silk. Museum purchase, made possible by an anonymous donor, 2004. E302324. Photo by Jeffrey R. Dykes/PEM.

      The Chuseok Festival celebrates one of Korea’s most important cultural holidays, centered around the harvest, gratitude and family reunions. Explore traditional and contemporary expressions of Korean culture through storytelling, art making and a curator-led tour! This multigenerational celebration also welcomes first-time and returning visitors to PEM’s Korean Art gallery. 
       

      PEM Pals: Chuseok Stories with Cori Ahn
      10–11 am | Main Atrium, Ground Level
      A family-focused storytelling and art-making program introduces younger audiences to Chuseok traditions, with their themes of harvest and family connection. Storyteller Cori Ahn will also show audiences a display of hanbok, Korean traditional clothing.


      Large-Scale Hangeul Calligraphy Demonstration with Youngsun Jang and Hannah Jang
      1–2 pm | Main Atrium, Ground Level
      Experience a live Hangeul calligraphy demonstration that reveals the beauty, structure and expressive qualities of the Korean writing system through large-scale brushwork. The featured phrase, 늘 한가위만 같아라 ("May every day be like Hangawi"), expresses a traditional wish for a life filled with abundance, gratitude and the joy of sharing with others. Inspired by the spirit of Hangawi, the Korean harvest festival, the demonstration highlights the enduring cultural values of generosity, community and ensuring that everyone has enough. Visitors will also have the opportunity to write their own Chuseok messages on small scrolls to take home.


      Drop-In Art Making | Korean Culture through Contemporary Fashion and Design with Cori Ahn
      11 am–3 pm | Create Space Studios, Ground Level
      Teens and adults are invited to explore Korean culture through fashion and visual expression. Storyteller Cori Ahn will also show audiences a display of hanbok, Korean traditional clothing.


      Curator-Led Tour: Yu Kil-Chun Gallery of Korean Art and Culture
      2–2:45 pm | Korean Art gallery, Level 2
      Visit the Korean Art gallery with Curator Jiyeon Kim to see how PEM’s historical Korean works from the 1890s and beyond connect to contemporary Korean popular culture. This tour draws interpretive links between traditional Korean art and modern cultural references.


      Chuseok Selfie Station
      10 am–4 pm
      Snap a selfie to celebrate your day at PEM!
       

      Chuseok Menu in the Atrium Café 
      10 am–5 pm
      Enjoy a seasonal menu of Chuseok-inspired food and drinks highlighting cultural references and Korean harvest traditions.

      About our collaborators

      Cori Ahn
      Cori Ahn

      Cori Ahn is a Korean American author, educator and cultural storyteller based in Brookline, Massachusetts. Born in South Korea, she earned a B.A. in English Language and Literature from Sookmyung Women’s University and an M.A. in TESOL from New York University. For more than 15 years, she has taught Korean language and culture throughout Greater Boston and New England, creating engaging programs for libraries, schools and community organizations.

      Through storytelling, food and hands-on cultural experiences, Cori introduces audiences of all ages to Korean traditions in approachable and meaningful ways. Her work explores the connections between culture, history and everyday life, with a special focus on Korean food, children’s literature and hanbok (traditional Korean clothing). She is the author of My Name Is Kimchi, a children’s picture book that celebrates Korean culture through storytelling. Instagram: @myname_is_kimchi

      YoungSun Jang
      YoungSun Jang

      YoungSun Jang is a Korean calligraphy artist and professor. He has majored in calligraphy since 1996 at Wonkwang University, where he achieved his bachelor's and master's degrees. In 2007 he completed Ph.D. studies at Beijing Normal University for Chinese character calligraphy. From 2013 through 2019 he taught calligraphy at Seoul National University of Education.

      Professor Jang has continuously participated in many Korea-China calligraphy exchanges and group exhibitions since 2007; he mounted a solo exhibition at Insadong, Seoul in 2017; and he was a featured presenter of his art and thesis at the 2019 Korea-China-Japan calligraphy exhibition and forum in Tokyo, Japan. He is still an active member of the Seoul National University of Education / Beijing Normal University / Tokyo Gakugei University association of calligraphers.

      In 2024, Professor Jang came to live in Boston. He represented Korea at the 2024 Pao Arts exhibition The Inventive Brush, Calligraphic Echoes from China, Japan, and Korea. He teaches private calligraphy lessons in the Boston area. His goal is to develop calligraphy education and to find a new calligraphy artistry based on the harmonious artistic basis between American and Korean writing art.

      Hannah Jang
      Hannah Jang

      Hannah Jang is a Korean language teacher and translator, and the chair of the Korean Culture Committee for the Korean Cultural Society of Boston. Born and raised in the Boston area, she began learning Chinese language in high school in 2006. She went on to study Chinese at Brandeis University and then at Beijing Language and Culture University in Beijing, China where she met her husband YoungSun Jang. In 2012 Hannah moved to South Korea and learned Korean language at Yonsei University.

      After living in Korea for 13 years Hannah Jang is now settling into life in Boston, where she brings her experience and passion for Korea, Korean language, Korean culture and Korean calligraphy to the Boston area. She currently hosts interactive educational events at local libraries, schools, museums and other venues.  Hannah also teaches Korean in private lessons and assists her husband in hosting and translating during his Korean calligraphy classes.

      Jiyeon Kim
      Jiyeon Kim

      Jiyeon Kim first joined the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) in 2016 as a project specialist and returned in 2023 as the Curator of Korean Art. She led the development of PEM’s new Korean Art Gallery, which opened in May 2025, and co-curated Jung Yeondoo: Building Dreams the same year.

      With over 15 years of experience in teaching and research in both Korea and the United States, Kim brings expertise and a dynamic curatorial vision to her role. She earned her Ph.D. in Korean Art History from the University of California, Los Angeles, and completed postdoctoral research at Columbia University.

      Her recent research focuses on the early collecting history of Korean art in U.S. museums and the emergence of new styles and aesthetics during the final years of the Joseon dynasty (1392–1910). Kim has published extensively in academic journals and edited volumes and remains actively engaged in local and international scholarly and cultural communities.
       

      Other events that may interest you

      View all events

      EVENTS

      Studio Saturdays: Nature's Abundance Collages
      Saturday, September 12, 2026 from 10:30 am—12:00 pm

      Learn more

      EVENTS

      Isamu Noguchi-Inspired Cross-Cultural Storytelling Workshop
      Saturday, September 19, 2026 from 11:00—11:45 am

      Learn more

      EVENTS

      Curator Conversation: Isamu Noguchi: "I am not a Designer"
      Saturday, September 19, 2026 from 1:00—2:00 pm

      Learn more

      EVENTS

      Pieces of Salem: An Anthology of Salem Voices
      Sunday, September 20, 2026 from 1:00—2:00 pm

      Learn more