Posts under "Holidays"

Celebrating the Year of the Dragon

Posted by Linda 2 Comments
Feb 4 2012

In Korea, Lunar New Year (설날; transliteration: “Sohl-nahl”) festivities have come and gone. It’s been more than a week since 설날, but since this traditional holiday’s essence is family and community, Koreans will continue to ask each other, “How did you celebrate Lunar New Year?” or, “How do you celebrate New Year’s Day?” (“당신은 어떻게 설날 기념하나요?”; transliteration: “Dangshin-eun eotteohge sohl-nahl ginyeomnayo?”)

당신은 어떻게 설날 기념하나요? I would love to hear how you celebrated 설날, especially if this was your first 설날 experience! I have heard from a lot of friendly Korean language enthusiasts via this blog and on Twitter. Specifically, last week, I received requests for how to say “Black Dragon” on our Twitter account (twitter.com/koreanlanguage). Also, I received requests for a list of Lunar New Year greetings and instructions for 윷놀이 (Yutnori) . Listed below are the answers to your questions:
  • Black dragon = 흑룡 (transliteration: heugl yong)
    Black dragon year = 흑룡 해 (transliteration: heugl yong hae)
  • A useful list of Korean Lunar New Year greetings is posted below and on my Scribd account: http://scr.bi/ApdZkF.
  • And, easy to follow directions for 윷놀이 are posted on my Scribd account: http://scr.bi/zVfWU0 . (Note: 윷놀이 is a traditional Korean game played on 설날. It is played with family, and is popular with kids and adults alike.  윷놀이 is played with four wooden sticks, four tokens, and a board. Playing this game ensures harmony with nature, as the sticks represent the four seasons.)

I hope you enjoyed 설날 as much as I did—I embed myself into as many 설날 activities as I could this year. On my quest to be “more Korean”, I did the following:

  • Cooked 떡만두국; duk mandu guk
    (Details & a recipe are listed in our previous blog article titled, Korean New Year: A Traditional Soup Recipe.)
  • Wore a new outfit
    (It is customary in Korea to wear a new outfit on 설날 for “new beginnings”!)
  • Cleaned my home
    (It is customary in Korea to clean your home on 설날 Eve.)
  • Brought my shoes indoors
    (Bringing shoes indoors on 설날 Eve prevents restless spirits from “filling shoes”.)
  • Played 윷놀이 with a group of adults and children!
  • Wore a Hanbok, i.e., tried one on!
    (Most modern South Koreans will not wear a Hanbok on 설날, but parents will often dress their young children in Hanboks on 설날.)

If you have any questions, or if you would like to share your thoughts or photographs with this community, please post them on this blog—or send me a “tweet” via Twitter. You might meet a new friend! : )

P.S.  Next week, I will write about Korean Calligraphy!

Korean Lunar New Year: Traditions and Zodiac Animals

Posted by Linda 2 Comments
Jan 19 2012

2012 Year of the Dragon.

As the holiday season is quieting down in the Western world, the Eastern world is gearing up for Lunar New Year. Although Koreans celebrate both Solar and Lunar New Years, Lunar New Year is one of Korea’s most important traditional holidays. Traditional holidays are called 명절 (transliteration: “myeong jeol”). In our previous blog article, we discussed that Lunar New Year is called 설날 (transliteration: “Sohl-nahl”), with the literal meaning roughly translating to, “new day”.

설날 is a three-day public holiday in Korea; public holidays are called 공휴일 (transliteration: gonghyu- il). The holiday begins on 설날 eve; this year, 설날 lands on January 23rd.  The 2012 three-day holiday will be from January 22nd to January 24th. Most Korean business are closed on 설날 eve and day, as most of Koreans travel to visit family members and elders. This is the busiest travel time of the year in Korea.

Will you celebrate 설날? If so, what are your plans? (Note: Next week, I will write about how I celebrated 설날!)

Many Korean businesses give 설날 calendars to their employees and customers; most of these calendars include both the solar and lunar cycles. Today, Korea abides by the solar calendar; but some traditionalists rely on the lunar calendar to determine birthdays, etc. In Korean, the (Gregorian) solar calendar is called 양력 (transliteration: “yang nyeok”), and the lunar calendar is called 음력 (transliteration: “eum nyeok”).

As 설날 approaches, Koreans enjoy festive décor donning the zodiac animal associated with the new year. This year, 2012, will be the year of the dragon; the fifth animal in the zodiac cycle. The dragon symbolizes courage, change, and hope! The 양력 has 12 zodiac animals; each animal represents a year, in a 12-year cycle.

Zodiac Animal Statues at The National Folk Museum in Gyeongbokgung, Korea.

The 12 zodiac animals in the 음력, in cyclic order:
Rat (쥐, jhi)
Ox (소, soh)
Tiger (호랑이, ho-rang-i)
Rabbit (토끼, toki)
Dragon (용, yong)
Snake (뱀, behm)
Horse (말, mahl)
Sheep (양, yang)
Monkey (원숭이, won-soong-i)
Rooster (수탉, soo-tahk)
Dog (개, gae)
Pig (돼지, deh-ji)

Most Koreans, when asking for your age, will ask you for your birth year. But, it can be fun to ask, “Which zodiac animal were you born under?” Here’s how to say it in Korean, “당신은 무엇 조디악 동물 아래에 태어 났죠?” (transliteration: “Dahngshi neun myo jodia dongmuhl nahdeh tay-oh nah-jho?”)

So, “당신은 무엇 조디악 동물 아래에 태어 났죠?”

Look at the chart below to determine your birth year’s zodiac animal. And remember, if you were born in January or February—you will have to reference the 음력 to see when 설날 began during your solar birth year. For example, if you were born on January 1st, 1990, you are a snake.

Lunar Zodiac Animal Chart

Many Koreans plan matchmaking, weddings, and childbirth around a particular zodiac animal year. The Year of the Dragon is supposedly a luck-filled year, especially for childbirth! If you would like to know more about the 2012 Dragon Year predictions, The Korea Blog explained it wonderfully, here: http://bit.ly/zc9IEO. I enjoyed reading about the symbolic significance of dragons in Buddhism, Korean culture, and Korean art!

I hope you have a wonderful Lunar New Year, and a prosperous Year of the Dragon! “Happy New Year!”/“새해 복 많이 받으세요!” (transliteration: “Say hey bok mahn ee bahd euh sae yo!”)

Korean New Year: A Traditional Soup Recipe

Posted by Linda 2 Comments
Jan 2 2012

Happy New Year! “새해 복 많이 받으세요!” or the transliteration,
“Say hey bok mahn ee bahd euh sae yo!” The literal meaning roughly translates to, “May this year bring you many blessings!”

Many Koreans celebrate both solar and lunar New Years. Lunar New Year is called 설날 or the transliteration, “Sohl-nahl”. And, the literal meaning roughly translates to, “new day”. 설날 will be celebrated on January 23rd; it will be the year of the water dragon!

But first, let’s celebrate the solar New Year! On January 1st (solar New Year), most Koreans celebrate by eating a traditional rice cake soup called 떡 국 or the transliteration, “duk guk”. Many Koreans add stuffed dumplings called 만두 or the transliteration, “mandu” to 떡 국; this soup is called 떡 만두 국 or the transliteration, “duk mandu guk”. Both soups are symbolic. The white 떡 represents new beginnings, or an “in with the new”. And, 만두 is usually stuffed with old kimchi representing an “out with the old”.

So, 떡 만두 국 is symbolic for the age-old saying, “Out with the old, and in with the new!”

떡 만두 국 is easy to make, and recipes vary (from using beef or chicken broth, to adding beef or omelet slices). Most ingredients are readily available at Korean grocery stores. Here is a simple recipe for 떡 만두 국:

Ingredients:
4 cups— water 물 (mul)

2 cups— chicken broth 닥물 (dak mul)

12 pieces— mandu 만두; frozen or thawed

1 cup— sliced rice cake 썰은 쌀떡 (saw-uhn sal duk); frozen

2 stalks— sliced green onions 파를 썰어 노고 (pah-duhl saw-doh no-kho)

Spices 양념 (yang yum):
2 teaspoons— salt 소금 (soh gum)

1 teaspoon— pepper 후추 (hu chu)

2 teaspoons— sesame oil 기름 (cham ghee ruhm)

Optional: 2 handfuls— roasted/seasoned seaweed 기름 (guhn gim); hand crumbled

Directions:
This recipe makes 2 large servings or 4 small servings.

In a large pot, boil 4 cups of water and 2 cups of chicken broth.

Bring to a boil, and then add 12 pieces of mandu (frozen or thawed) and 1 cup of sliced rice cake pieces (frozen). Let the soup come to a boil.

Allow the soup to boil for about 3 to 5 minutes. While the soup is boiling, add 2 stalks of sliced green onions and all spices: (2 teaspoons of salt, 1 teaspoon of pepper, and 2 teaspoons of sesame oil).

Turn the heat down to a low simmer; ensure that the sliced rice cake pieces are soft. If the rice cakes are soft  and floating on top of the broth, the soup is done!

떡 만두 국

Using a big ladle, spoon the soup into bowls. Then, garnish each bowl of soup with a handful of crumbled roasted seaweed. Pour a little bit of sesame oil on top for extra flavor. Serve with kimchi! Enjoy!

Enjoy!

Korean Lunar New Year

Posted by Ginny No Comments
Feb 6 2011

This year, the Korean lunar New Year took place on February 3rd. The Korean lunar New Year is different from the New Year that took place on January 1st. The New Year on January 1st is the New Year based on the solar calendar. This is traditionally an exciting day for children because this is the day where they will receive money called ‘sebe don’ (새배돈). In order to receive the money, children will perform a bow called ‘sebe jul’ (새배절). While they are performing this bow, they will utter the phrase ‘sehe bok mani baduseyo’ (새해 복 많이 받으세요). Here is a video of what this might look like:

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If you watched the video, you saw that both children were wearing traditional Korean clothes called hanbok (한복).

The New Year is called sul nal (설날). Sul nal is a day where Korean people eat a rice cake soup called ddok guk (떡국). Here is a video showing you how to make it:

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Chuseok Harvest

Posted by Ginny 1 Comment
Sep 19 2010

Chuseok (추석) is a big holiday in Korea. To learn more about Chuseok, you can read a post that I’ve already written about here : http://www.transparent.com/korean/chuseok/ . It’s basically a day where Koreans eat lots of food on a table prepared in a manner like this :

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Anyway, if you’re going to be around a group of people, try the Ganggangsullae (강강술래) Dance. This dance is an old Korean dance performed by women, but as time goes on, men and children have also participated. Basically you hold hands with the person next to you, and walk around in a circle, like this :

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