The Korean term for this practice is Sebe. .
To celebrate, one must not only celebrate the future, but also celebrate and remember the past. This at least seems to be true to the traditions of the Korean community in respects to their New Year celebrations. A big part of their celebration is called Chesa. Chesa translated would mean offering to the ancestors. Chesa, sometimes known as Chare because of the teas and liquors served with it, is culturally important and must be prepared for in advance. Jason remembers his mother sending him to the market to buy ingredients so she could cook all day to prepare their family's share at New Years celebrations. Since this is the most cultural, bordering on religious, part of the celebrations women take great care for the preparations and generally spend the whole day cooking. Items that are generally prepared are: fruits, fishes, fried meats and even dumplings. In other celebrations in place of the fried meats, rice is usually placed. When all this food is prepared and brought to the celebration it is placed on the altar for offering to the ancestors. From what Jason says, there doesn't seem to be much of an emphasis placed on religion in the Korean culture. This seems to be more of a community gathering, than a religious ritual to bring a community closer to God. .
Then there is the food. Food is at the heart of all great celebrations and in Korean culture a multitude of items are prepared for consumption. While there is a large choice of food there is one representative dish that everyone in the Korean community must eat to celebrate New Years properly; ddeok-guk. It is a type of rice cake soup that includes various vegetables and dumplings. In the traditional view, you do not become a year older until you eat a serving of ddeok-guk. Some of the other specialty dishes served on New Years are: meat fritters, dried persimmons, a variety of walnuts, dates, vegetables, traditional cookies, etc.