Usually in October, towards the beginning of the month, Korean and American flags are raised in honor of 국군의 날. 국군의 날 is Armed Forces Day. 국군의 날 is not a national holiday and people do not get the day off. Nonetheless it’s a day created to reflect upon the military sacrifices made when the South Korean forces reached the 38th parallel. To put it in an oversimplified way, the miltary forces of South Korea consists of the ROK Armed Forces (ROK = Republic of Korea) or 대한민국 국군 and KATUSA (Korean Augmentation to the US Army) or 카투사.
The history behind the 38th parallel is a source of national regret and sorrow. Before I introduce the history behind the 38th parallel, I’ll just briefly mention what it is. The 38th parallel is a latitudinal boundary set between North and South Korea. South of the 38th parallel lies South Korea and accordingly north of the parallel is North Korea. Sometimes the 38th parallel is referred to as the DMZ or the Demilitarized Zone (한반도 비무장지대).
The DMZ was created in 1953 as an armstice between North and South Korea. Before the armistice, North Korea had formed an alliance with the Soviet Union and South Korea had an alliance with the US. From 1950 to 1953 the two sides fought for territorial gains and political/ideological supremacy. Although the fighting ended with an armistice, there was never a peace treaty that followed afterward. Therefore, technically speaking North and South Korea are still engaged in a type of cold ‘war’. Both sides have agreed not to cross the DMZ, but there were periodic violations of this agreement.
There is a lot more to this story, but since we’re short on time, I’ll just say that it’s been estimated that around 36, 940 US troops were killed, with 245,000 - 415,000 South Korean troops killed and around 2,000,000 civilians who were also the casualities of the war. With these casualties in mind, let us not forget the sacrifices of these lives on 국군의 날.
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The first official nation of Korea was called Gojoseon (고조선). There is archeaological evidence that the Gojoseon kingdom really existed. Clay pots with comb patterned designs were found on Jejudo (제주도) and Ulsan (울산). These pots are artifacts from the Jeulmun pottery period (즐문 토기 시대), which may be as old as 8000-1500 B.C. There were also reddish clay pots from the Mumum pottery period (무문토기시대), which may have lasted from 1500 to 300 B.C.
The most characteristic food consumed on Chuseok is songpyeon (송평). Songpyeon is a rice cake made from sticky rice. Songpyeon is made in the shape of a half moon. The inside of the rice cake is made of honey and seasame seeds. The Songpyeon is steamed over pine needles to give them a piney smell and taste. The Songpyeon come in all colors like white, green and pink.
For those who may be unfamilar to Buddhism, the Buddha refers to Prince Siddhartha Gautama. He is considered a spritual man who attained englightenment. Prince Siddhartha came from a wealthy family. He was able to throw away his attachment to wordly materials and lead a life of poverty. For that he is respected.
In Korea, colored paper streamers line the temples. Free food and tea is served to all the visitors who visit the temple. Visitors are not required to make an offering, but I think it’s classy to give at least a little something. I know that some people take the liberty of taking free food from the temple and give nothing in return. Please don’t do that. Give at least a bag of rice or some money. It’s not as if the monks are profiting from the offerings. They live on basic subsistence and any extra food and money is donated to charity.
The most characteristic food served on Buddha’s birthday is 비빔밥. 비빔밥 is a rice and vegetable dish mixed with spicy red pepper paste. The vegetables are called 나물 and are sauteed before serving. There’s also 고사리 which is a plant derived vegetable with a brown color to it. Lettuce is included as well. Sometimes a fried egg is thrown in the mix. I often put ground beef in my 비빔밥, and it’s a common practice to do so. However, the monks are vegetarians. You probably won’t find any source of meat on Buddha’s birthday.
July 4th is the day the American colonists declared their independece from England. Well, Koreans also have their own Independence Day called samiljul (삼일절). The name samiljul (삼일절) was named after the March protest demonstrations. The demonstrations were called manseundong (만세운동). Coincidentally, Korea was subjugated by the Japanese the same number of years the American colonists were under British rule. So here’s a trivia question: what is that number? The answer: 36. Both the Americans and Koreans were under colonial rule for 36 years.
