Korean New Year’s & Lunar New Year’s – Seoul, Korea

Little clouds of breath seem to hang in the air as body heat is conserved in the roaring crowd. The roads are blocked off, and the excitement and sweet nostalgia already stirring are almost palpable. The counting is near the end: “Oh, sa, sam, ee, il, HOORAH!”

Okay, that was pulling it out of my ass. I don’t even know if I used the right counting system, because I always get the two mixed up. I’ve never been to Korea during the winter before (astute readers would have caught that since I mentioned it before in another article), so I don’t have the faintest clue what happens on New Year’s Eve, let alone New Year’s Day. Thus, I decided that I should offer you an insider’s perspective. Here is Hyewon Moon’s take on the two holidays (they get to celebrate twice – how cool is that, more vacation time!). (Note: everything is verbatim except for some grammatical and spelling errors that might confuse readers otherwise):

“I guess there are two things to mention about the New Year [Christina's note: this is the internationally recognized calendar, i.e. on January 1]. One is the striking of the bell at the ‘Chonggak,’ which is near the Kwangwha-gate. It’s actually right by the Kyobo Bookstore, which is perhaps the biggest and the most well-known in Korea.

“On the new year’s eve, many people gather at the area to hear the bell toll at midnight. The bell is very big, and it usually takes a big man to strike the bell, but I guess that way it’s loud enough for many people to hear around the area. I’ve never been out there myself. It’s too cold and too crowded for me. Frankly, I wonder how all those people get home after that because after midnight, there is usually no public transportation, except for taxis. Besides, you can always watch the event at home on TV.

“The second thing I would like to mention is the Lunar New Year, which next year will be on February 12. It’s the longest weekend in Korea: lasts from Saturday (9th) through Wednesday (13th).

“The Lunar New Year, as you may know already, is celebrating the new year of the lunar calendar. I am not so keen on the lunar year system, but many Koreans still are. For example, my grandmother mostly thinks about dates as both lunar date and the regular calendar date. So, if I told her that so-and-so is getting married on Dec. 5, she will automatically count it in terms of the lunar calendar and say something like, ‘Oh, that is Oct. 21 on the lunar calendar.’ She, as well as many other people in Korea, still celebrates her birthday in the lunar calendar.

“Of course, the ‘Jesa,’ day of memorial for a deceased family member, is also counted in the lunar calendar. That is why it is sometimes confusing, or difficult to remember, for the younger people to remember those dates. Anyway, when the calendars come in for the new year, I usually look at when the lunar new year is next year because that is when we have the first major holidays of the year. My family celebrates the western calendar new year, and usually do other things in the lunar new year long weekend. That’s another reason why I stay home for the new year’s bell toll. I am too tired to go out after preparing (or helping my mom prepare) for the feast the next day. My parents just love to take the opportunity to travel. However, most other people celebrate the lunar new year by going back to their home towns or cities. Many at least do an extended family gathering. Usually the eldest of the family prepares the food for the feast. A typical new years day dish is ‘Tukkuk’ – beef broth with rice cakes cut in small pieces.* Also the new year’s day is when all Korean’s are supposed to get a day older.”

*A quick comment: being vegetarian, I couldn’t eat this dish, so for Chusok, which is another major Korean holiday, my mother made it with veggie broth instead. Big mistake. I have to admit, some things only taste good with meat products. If there are organic beef broths/chicken broths, I might try eating this really delicious dish again. Otherwise, I’m content with watching my family members slurp it up. Really, I am.

For more information on these holidays, check out these websites:

http://www.clickasia.co.kr/about/h0101.htm
Another take on the holidays with very detailed explanations on aspects of them, like food, clothing, and activities. A lot of pics and illustrations. Provides a couple’s experience of one year.

http://soback.kornet.nm.kr/~pixeline/heeyun/korea/newyear.html
A briefer description of the holidays. Scroll to the bottom to check out the homepage and more interesting links about Korea.

http://www.gikorea.com/holiday.htm
An even briefer description of the holidays as well as other similarly one-paragraph expounders on the major national holidays of Korea.

Questions?
If you want more information about this area you can email the author or check out our Asia Insiders page.

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