YONGSAN GARRISON -- New Year's Day is a special time for people all around the world and each culture has its own way to celebrate the day. The Korean New Year's Day, Seollal, is when traditional values and customs are not only observed, but once again emphasized by everyone in the Korean society.
The date of New Year's Day in Korea is slightly different from the one marked on western calendars, for it corresponds to cycles of the lunar phases. Seollal, along with Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving), is one of the two major holidays in which South Koreans gather to celebrate with their families. The celebration lasts three days: the day before Korean New Year's day, Korean New Year's Day itself, and the day after. During this three-day holiday, massive movements of people occur. People return to their hometowns to visit their parents and other relatives, where they perform an ancestral ritual called charye. It is a time to respect ancestors and also an opportunity to catch up with distant family members.
As a side effect to the observance of this important holiday, traveling can oftentimes be inconvenient as everybody tries to go back to their hometowns. There is a mad rush to reserve transportation even before the holiday starts. As a result, cars, buses, trains and even planes are crowded because of the movement. The highways that are connected to other regions become so congested that it usually takes over two to three times the normal travel time. Seollal is also a time when the custom of gift-giving is widespread throughout society. Because of this, an overall rise in the cost of goods can be seen due to increasing demand.
The history of Koreans celebrating Lunar New Year can be traced back to traditional Chinese literature, such as the Book of Sui and the Old Book of Tang, which both contain excerpts about celebrations during the New Year in the Silla Kingdom. In the Joseon Dynasty (1392 - 1897), all the government officials gathered in the Five Grand Palaces to make New Year's greetings.
Based on these roots, many of the customs that were developed over time are still observed today. Sebeh, which is the act of bowing deeply to one's elders, is a traditionally observed activity on Seollal. Children wish their elders (grandparents, parents, uncles and aunts) a happy new year by performing the deep traditional bow and saying "saehae bok mani badeuseyo," which means, "Please receive a lot of luck in the new year". Parents typically reward this gesture by giving their children New Year's money in luck bags made with gorgeous silk design and offering words of wisdom, "deokdam," In the past parents gave out rice cakes and fruit to their children. Before and during the bowing ceremony, children wear hanbok as a respectful way to appreciate ancestors and elders. Since dressing up in hanbok is not mandatory, people tend to wear other formal clothing nowadays.
With the gathering of families, many traditional dishes can be seen on the table during this period as well. Tteokguk, soup with sliced rice cakes, is a typical Korean traditional food that is customarily eaten for the New Year. According to Korean age reckoning, the Korean New Year is similar to a birthday for Koreans, and eating tteokguk is part of the birthday celebration. Once you finish eating your tteokguk, you are one year older.
Family members also enjoy many traditional games related to the Korean New Year. The traditional family board game yunnori is still a popular game nowadays. It is played with the specially designed sticks called yut which is similar to dice. Traditionally men and boys would fly rectangle kites called Yeon, and play jegichagi, which is a version of hacky sack. On the other hand, Korean women and girls would have traditionally played neolttwigi, a game of jumping on a seesaw, and gongginori, a game played with five little stones.
Over time cultural changes have caused families to spread out all across the peninsula, Seollal is a time when the people of South Korea try to get back in touch with their roots. The observance of New Year's Day is a chance to forget painful memories of the past and wish the best of luck to loved ones in the upcoming year, Seollal is surely a significant day for Koreans.
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