"Stop Family Feuds During Holidays"... Will 'Charyesang Conflicts' Disappear?

9 out of 10 People Say "Charyesang Food Should Be Simplified"
"The Heart of Honoring Ancestors Is Not in the Number of Dishes"

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] As preparing the holiday ancestral rites table has been identified as a source of family conflict, the Sungkyunkwan Ritual Establishment Committee (Sungkyunkwan) has stepped in to mediate by emphasizing the principle of simplifying the rites table.

Preparing the holiday ancestral rites table has long been considered one of the biggest causes of holiday stress. In a survey conducted last January by HR tech company Incruit targeting 847 adult men and women, 6 out of 10 respondents (60.0%) cited "making jeon (Korean pancakes) and setting the rites table" as the most stressful and burdensome part of holiday events.

Additionally, more than 9 out of 10 respondents (94.3%) answered that simplification of the rites table food is necessary. Regarding the level of food preparation for the rites table, the majority preferred a table set mainly with foods favored by the family or the deceased (68.4%), followed by a rites table with 1-2 single dishes (16.1%), and a table with a variety of dishes but reduced quantities (11.2%).

There have even been incidents where family conflicts over the rites table escalated into violent attacks with weapons. Last September, ahead of Chuseok, a woman in her 60s in Busan was arrested by the police after wielding a weapon during an argument with her husband over the preparation of the rites table. The investigation revealed that the couple had a dispute over holiday food preparation.

The ancestral table set with nine simplified dishes according to the plan disclosed by the Sungkyunkwan Ritual Establishment Committee on September 5 last year.
[Image provided by Yonhap News Agency, Sungkyunkwan Ritual Establishment Committee]

As conflicts surrounding the rites table intensified, Sungkyunkwan advocated for "Confucianism suited to the times" and emphasized the principle of simplifying the rites table. On the 16th, Sungkyunkwan recommended keeping the rites simple while guiding the proper way to perform the New Year's bow. They stated that there is no set rule for the types of fruits placed on the rites table, so one can choose them comfortably, and that it is not necessary to include fried or pan-fried foods on the table, so there is no need to laboriously make jeon.

According to the standard plan proposed by Sungkyunkwan, a simplified New Year's rites table includes nine types of food such as rice cake soup (tteokguk), seasoned vegetables (namul), grilled dishes, kimchi, alcohol (in cups), and four kinds of fruit. For the Chuseok rites table, songpyeon (half-moon rice cakes) can be placed instead of tteokguk. Sungkyunkwan emphasized that expressions like 'Hongdongbaekseo' (紅東白西 - placing red fruits on the east side and white fruits on the west side of the ancestral table) or 'Joyulishi' (棗栗梨枾 - jujube, chestnut, pear, persimmon) are not found in ritual literature.

Sungkyunkwan also promoted the principle of simplifying the rites table last Chuseok. At a press conference on September 5 last year, Sungkyunkwan stated, "The rites are ceremonies filled with the sincerity of descendants honoring their ancestors, but if this causes suffering or family discord, it is certainly undesirable," adding, "The spirit of honoring ancestors does not lie in the number of dishes, so there is no need to strive to prepare many dishes."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.