Married immigrants make happy songpyeon

By Kwon Mee-yoo

Some 20 married immigrants from China, Vietnam, Philippines and other countries gathered to make “songpyeon,” half moon shaped rice cake with fillings for Chuseok.

In a hall of the Yangcheon District Office last Thursday, the immigrant wives, invited by the Saemaul Women's Club, learned how to make traditional rice cakes and arranged dishes for ancestral rites held during the holiday.

“Seal the folds of the rice cake tightly so the filling won’t burst out during the steaming,” a club member shouted.

After a mock ritual, Thach Thi Thanh Thuy, 25, a married immigrant from Vietnam, focused intently on making songpyeon while wearing a hanbok, traditional Korean costume.

She took a little bit of dough and kneaded it with her hands before spreading it in a flat round shape to hold the sweet filling. Then she folded it in half and pressed the edges together to form a half moon. “I really like songpyeon, but I am not very good at making it,” she said.

She came to Korea three years ago and settled in the western part of Seoul. Her two-year-old daughter goes to a local childcare and she works at Yangcheon-gu Healthy Family Support Center as a multicultural counselor. She heard about the event at the center and participated with her co-workers.

“I will go to Gyeongju, where my parents-in-law live, with my husband and brother-in-law’s family by car,” Thanh Thuy said. “Since I am the youngest, my mother-in-law lets me do little things.”

Thanh Thuy said there is no such tradition in Vietnam and she is excited to see her in-laws.

The rice cake-making is a yearly function of the Yangcheon Saemaul Women's Club, but this year is special as they opened up to new members of their community, especially immigrants from other countries.

Kim Chan-hyun, the president of the club, said the rice cakes will be sent to senior citizens who live alone.

“I hope this event helps married immigrants adapt to Korean life and customs more easily,” Kim said. “We also made connections between club members and immigrant women to be friendlier with each other.”

Chun Mak-nae, a Saemaul Women's Club branch chief, formed a mother-daughter relationship with Pham Thi Phuong Nhung, a 23-year-old married immigrant from Vietnam.

“I have a son and two daughters, but my daughters are either in the United States or Japan. Now I have a new daughter who lives close to me,” Chun said.

She boasted that her daughter was the prettiest one. At the end of songpyeon-making, Chun distributed food for rites prepared by the club to her daughter and told her, “Don’t forget to call me,” smiling widely.