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Today on the Korean Atlas and History. South Korean Holidays. 설날 Sae Hae.

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설날새해 or the Korean New Year, is the first day of the Korean calendar,

which follows the Chinese lunisolar calendar. Seollal is the second most important

Korean holiday, after Chuseok. The holiday lasts three days, starting with the day

before the Korean new year, the actual New Year’s Day, and the day after the Korean

New Year. 새해 첫날 the name given to January 1st, the first day of the Korean year

according to the Gregorian calendar. Note, that this should not be confused with

Seol-Nal, the Lunar New Year; a much bigger holiday in Korea. The Korean New Year

is generally in January or February, but changes depending on the cycle of the

moon. During this time, Korean families visit their parents’ homes, as well as their in-

laws, if they have any. Along with this, families often wear traditional Korean clothes

known as 한복 s, eat traditional food, play traditional games, and some families

perform ancestral rites.

The Korean New Year was established in ancient times around the 3rd century.

It was celebrated continually until the Japanese annexation of Korea in 1910, in

which celebration of the Korean New Year was prohibited. After Korean liberation in

1945, 새해, or the Gregorian New Year was the national public holiday. In the 1980s,
however, opinion changed, and the government allowed the Korean New Year to

become a national holiday in 1989, under president 노태우.

The Korean New Year is a 3 day holiday where Korean families visit their

parents and, in many families, perform a special 제사 ceremony, called a 차례. The

제사 is a ceremony to memorialize the deceased ancestors of the people performing

the 제사. It should be noted that Catholic and Christian Koreans generally do not

perform 제사 s. During 설날 and 추석, this 제사 is called a 차례, which means “tea

rights.” During any 제사, family members go to the eldest living son’s home and

prepare food for the ritual, usually including wine, taro soup, beef, fish, vegetables,

fruit, and rice cakes prior to the ceremony. The tendency is to offer food that the

deceased preferred in life, if it is known. The evening before the 제사, a memorial

tablet, or 신위 will be placed at the table where the ceremony is to be held. The

시위 represents the spiritual presence of the ancestor. Food and candles are laid out

on the table, then the family follows a ritual of remembrance to the deceased

ancestors. The following day, Koreans visit the tomb of the ancestors and trim the

grass and weeds around the tomb. Then, they offer food, fruit, and wine to the

ancestors in front of the tomb. After this, the participants bow in front of the tomb.

The specifics of the 제사 ritual can vary from family to family.

 Along with performing a 제사 ritual, 설날 is a holiday where families can get

together and catch up on one another’s lives. It is one of the few times in the year

that busy family members can meet. Family members also give one another gifts,

usually money, and eat traditional food as well as fruit. The entire month of 설날

sees inflated food prices. For this reason, some families have chosen to forgo

traditions in order to save money. The South Korean government has begun raising

the supply of agricultural, fishery, and livestock products in order to help with

inflation during this period. Along with this, the government has begun using rice

reserves an pork imports to lower inflation. Finally, the government has been

funding small and medium sized companies to help with cash problems.

During the Korean New Year, family members often dress up in 한복 s,

traditional Korean clothing. A woman’s 한볼 consists of a shirt or jacket along with a

full wrap-around skirt. Men’s 한복 s consist of a shirt or jacket as well, along with

loose fitting pants. 한복 s can be easily seen in pictures from Korean history, or even

in modern dramas. During the 설날 holiday, newscasters often wear 한복 s as

compared to their usually western attire.

세배 is a ritual practiced on 설날 in most Korean homes. Family members

dress in 한복 s and wish their elders a happy new year. They do this by performing a

big bow, in which the hands are placed on the ground and the person bows
prostrate to the elders. They say the phrase 새해 복 많이 받으세요, which translates

to “Please receive lots of good fortune for the New Year.” Then, the elders generally

give some cash to the children, as well as some words of wisdom.

During 설날, 떡국 is a traditional food customarily eaten by Koreans. 떡국 is a

soup with thinly sliced rice cakes and often containing meat. Traditionally, if you eat

떡국, it is said that you become one year older.

Koreans often play a traditional game, 윳노리, as well. It is a board game

where 윳 4 sticks are thrown in the air, in a similar way to dice. The sticks should

fully flip over on the throw. The sticks are designed with one flat side and one

rounded sided. Depending on whether they land on the flat or round end, scoring is

done differently. Depending on the throw, the pieces are awarded a certain amount

of movement, or a new piece can be placed on the board. The pieces are moved

around a board to their home. The team who brings all their pieces from the start to

home first, wins. If you land your piece on another piece, that piece is sent off the

board.

In addition to 윳노리 people fly kites and play on traditional see-saws, where
you jump up and down rather than sit. Many adults play traditional card games as
well, including 화투 and Go-Stop. 설날 is one of the most beautiful Korean traditions
and should be experience by any visitor staying in Korea.
 SaeHae is not nearly such a popular holiday as Seolnal, yet it is still

holiday at companies and schools. As in the western world, the first child of the

new year and other firsts are celebrated at this time. Koreans celebrities that

become the first couples of the year, are also often noted. Based upon a

person’s birthday, men must enter the military service at this time. Yet, as of the

1990s, no one is allowed admittance until the following weekday, as New Year’s

Day is an official holiday. One of the most famous examples is that of the 723

Air Force, which had an entrance date on January 1st, 2015. Because of the

admission date and a trick of bureaucracy, those who entered on this date had

to wait an entire year before they could receive their reserve training. This start

date was said to have “drawn the students like bees to honey.”

The reason for this confusion is due to the way birthdays are calculated in
Korea. When a child is old, they are considered to be one year old. This is
because, in the past, the infant mortality rate was very high, and a child being
born without reaching a year of age was displeasing so much to the populous,
that the trend started of calling your newborn one year old. Many Koreans
consider the reasoning for this to be counting the age of the child in the womb.
Thus, a newborn baby born on June 5th, 2019 will be one year old. When she
reaches her birthday, she does not gain a year. Every New Year, or Lunar New
Year depending on your preference, you become one year older. So, when the
baby reaches January 1st, 2020, she will be 2. When June 5th comes around,
Koreans don’t add further to the age. The age is only added to on Solar or
Lunar New Year. So, basically, if you want to find your Korean age, simply take
the current year and subtract your birth year. Then, add 1 for the year in the
womb. Because of this addition of one year at the new year, it has led to a large
amount of parents wishing to have children early in the year rather than late.
This is because, a baby born in January would go to school with children the
same age or younger. A baby born in December would turn two in January, and
be expected to keep up with children who have had nearly a one year head
start. Thus, your birth month plays a major factor in your childhood and
education in Korea.

Throughout the history of Korea, Korea has been influenced by China.

Because of this, Koreans have been celebrating the Lunar New Year throughout
the history of Korea. In the 1896 Gabo Reformation, Korea accepted the
Gregorian calendar, yet the Lunar New Year was still celebrated. Lunar New Year
was not a holiday, though, until it was made one in the 1980s. Thus, the Solar
New Year and Lunar New Year being celebrated are joked as being called a
“double taxation,” although extra taxes are not actually paid.

When a Korean hears the word New Year, they tend to think of the Lunar
New Year. The major tradition of returning to your hometown and meeting your
friends and relatives is reserved for the Lunar New Year. Yet the Solar New Year
has some traditions of its own.

One such tradition is the ringing of the 보신각 bell. The 보신각 bell was
originally constructed in 1396, yet has been destroyed many times by fire or
war. The bell continues to be rebuilt, though, and in ancient Joseon, the bell was
used to announce the opening and closing of the Seoul gates, and as a fire
alarm. Currently, the bell is only rung on the Solar New Year, and it tolls 33
times to ring in the New Year.

A second Solar New Year tradition is the eating of 떡국. 떡국 is a broth cooked
with thinly sliced pieces of rice cakes and eggs, marinated meat, and seaweed
laver. 떡국 is said to give good luck throughout the new year, as well as add a
year to your age for each bowl you eat. Therefore, if you eat 떡국 in Korea on
New Year’s Day, make sure just to eat one bowl.

Another tradition that Koreans continue to follow on the Solar New Year
is 새해덕담, or Korean New Year’s Goodwill, which generally involves bowing in a
formal way to others. This tradition is followed on the Lunar New Year as well.

There is also a tradition of a first dream of the New Year. The dream will
inspired and help those along their path throughout the year. However, the
dream does not occur on the night of New Year’s Eve; the dream occurs on the
night of January 1st to the morning of January 2nd.

Finally, many Koreans travel to the east sea to watch the first dawn on
New Year’s Day. At this time, Koreans make wishes that they hope will come
true in the New Year. Some famous places to watch the first dawn of the New
Year include the Jeong-Dong-Jin Sunrise Festival in Gangwon, the Hom-i-Got
Sunrise Festival in Po-hang, and the Seong-San Sunrise Festival on Jeju Island.

Thank You for listening to this episode of the Korean Atlas and History.

Most of today’s information was taken from the 나무 Wiki and Wikipedia. All of our

episodes can be found and downloaded from koreanatlasandhistory.com.We hope you

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next time!