Yugok-ri is a historic village in Bonghwa, Gyeongsangbuk-do, also known as "Daksil." The village earned this nickname due to its shape reminiscent of a hen hatching its eggs.

The house of the lineage heir of the Chungjeong-gong branch of the Kwon clan of Andong is located at the precise section of the village that has been likened a hatching hen.

Members of the Kwon clan first settled in Daksil Village some 480 years ago, in 1520. Today, the Kwon clan accounts for the vast majority of residents in this village.

Unsurprisingly, people in surrounding communities call members of the Kwon clan of Andong residing in this village the "Kwon clan of Daksil."

[Interview]: We make a donggot rice cake according to an ancient recipe. You build a stack of long rice cakes and then garnish it with eleven different kinds of decorative pastries. We also prepare some sweet rice puff pastries in five colors.

Rare family recipes have been handed down in the household of the lineage heir of the Kwon clan. In addition to home-brewed wines, they make a unique style of cake known as donggot cake (tall stack of long top knot pin-shaped cakes) and colorful rice puff pastries. These pastries are special treats prepared only for seasonal holidays and family rituals as offerings for a Chuseok charye ceremony or memorial ceremonies.

Ritual food is prepared by the wife of the lineage heir with the help of women relatives, in a manner to closely follow the family's culinary tradition.

The preparation of food begins usually two or three days before Chuseok. On the eve of Chuseok, they frequently stay up all night adding finishing touches to their elaborate pastries and dishes. But, no one complains, and everyone is only glad to help.

Daksil is a typical clan village. Over 90% of its residents descend from Kwon Beol, the first member of the Kwon clan of Andong to settle in the area.

The residents of Daksil Village are all related to each other by blood ties. On Chuseok day, they first attend the charye ceremony in the homes of members of their own respective branch of the clan. Afterwards, clan members of all branches come together to attend the charye ceremony at the home of the lineage heir.

The Chuseok charye ceremony in the house of the lineage heir also draws members of the Kwon clan who reside in nearby Naeseong and Chunyang.

In the lineage heir's household, the charye ceremony is performed for their bulcheonwi ancestor and other ancestors up to four generations back. A separate altar is set up for each ancestor.

Separate tables are used to avoid food offerings becoming mixed up. Although food is prepared through the joint effort of women of the clan, the wife of the lineage heir has the final say about the placement of ritual food.

Years of experience in preparing ritual food for the charye ceremony have made her an expert.

The menu includes songpyeon cakes made with a new crop of rice, freshly-harvested fruits, seasoned and dried meat, a soup and skewered fish. One remarkable thing about the Kwon family’s charye is that they offer raw meat at the altar. The offering of uncooked meat is normally only practiced during memorial ceremonies performed in Confucian shrines. This therefore suggests that one of the ancestors was a scholar who was prominent enough for his spirit tablet to be housed in a Confucian shrine.

During the final stage of preparation, the lineage heir who is the family elder pays a visit to the shrine where the ceremony will take place to see if everything is in order, and nothing is amiss.

Village elders and next-in-line heirs also take part in the preparation by verifying whether the placement of ritual food is correct.

[Interview]: They must be placed in a straight line. Spread them out, I am telling you.

Although both charye and memorial ceremonies are generally performed only for ancestors up to four generations back, in the Kwon household, they are performed also for a fifth-generation ancestor, as this ancestor was granted the bulcheonwi status.

Descendants of any generation can perform a memorial rite for a bulcheonwi ancestor, who is not subject to any generational limit.

At the start of the ceremony, the lineage heir invokes the spirits of ancestors and salutes them. He then makes a libation.

Unlike regular memorial ceremonies in which three libations are made, during a charye ceremony, only one libation is made. There is also no reading of the prayer text in a charye ceremony.

After the libation, a spoon is stuck into the rice bowls in front of each ancestral tablet. The spoon must be placed so that the handle stands in an upright position, with its concave side facing the east.

The participants then leave the room and briefly wait outside to let the ancestors enjoy the meal. This period usually lasts the time needed to take nine spoonfuls of food.

The meal is now considered over, and the ancestors are served rice tea. The rice tea is poured into the emptied soup bowl due to the belief that spirits are unable to notice the beverage if served in a new bowl.

Next, the silverware is removed, and the lids are put back on the rice and soup bowls.

The altar is now cleared by removing dishes in the order in which they were placed.

All participants now sit down together for eumbok, the act of eating sacrificial food after a rite.

Normally, everyone is served on their own individual table. But, these days, two-person tables are increasingly used for simplicity's sake.

Eumbok begins with a drink of eumbok wine. The lineage heir drinks first, and the rest of participants drink successively in the order based on their position in the family tree or age.

The participants are required to remain in their formal outfit until the end of eumbok.

Charye is a ceremony to thank ancestors for a bountiful harvest. That is why the meal presented at the charye altar tends to be as lavish as possible.

Charye is also about remembering those who came before us and acknowledging our roots. Graced with descendants who will carry on family tradition, people in the Kwon household truly count their blessings this Chuseok.