Friday, October 19, 2012

Seasons of Korea

Five hundred twenty-five thousand 
Six hundred minutes
Five hundred twenty-five
Moments so dear

Five hundred twenty-five thousand 
Six hundred minutes
How do you measure,
Measure a year?

Korea likes to measure their years by their distinct four seasons. It is believed among the Koreans that they are the only country in the world where the weather does look like their respective season, only because they are proud of their country. I don't blame them, Korea is beautiful in the pictures I can see. I strongly look forward to seeing 겨울 (kyeo ul). Here are the seasons with their respective names from left to right each row:  봄, 여름, 겨울 and 가을. 



In December of this year, I will be flying to Seoul, South Korea for two weeks. I will be celebrating the holidays and the Western New Years. The weather at this point will be Winter. There will be snow, lots of snow, and did I mention snow? If the weather is already cold in Jasper, Georgia (thank you family vacation), Korea is going to be extremely cold. According to the Korean, who writes a response to people asking an actual Korean person questions they want to ask but are afraid to offend them, writes that it is just a sense of pride of their weathers, but when they learn English, it comes off as a bit much

However, it was stated at the end that the four distinct seasons pride could favor towards their seasonal holidays. Last week we celebrated 추석, which is the holiday of 가을, 설날 for the 겨울 which I won't be able to celebrate in Korea, 대보름 for 봄, and 단오 for 여름. The last two celebrations, I've never heard of until now. 

대보름 is the celebration of the first full moon of the lunar calendar, after 설날. It literally translates to Full Great Moon, and it's not very exciting as the last two celebrations, but it is a deep respect of their culture to respect the first full moon because it is believed the first person to see the rise of the moon will get good luck for the rest of the year, or grant one wish

단오, also known as 수릿날, is celebrated on the 5th lunar day of the 5th lunar month. They like the number five, don't they? It is a celebration for the end of the sowing season, thanking the high god, which is the translation of 수릿날. This holiday actually originated from North Korea, but recognizing the significance, South Korea adapted it for the same reasons. 

It is fascinating to know there are four major holidays associated with the four seasons respectively. I can't wait to see how they prepare for the Lunar new year. 

Until next time!




4 comments:

  1. Not including years of generally weird weather (like an El Nino or La Nina year), Virginia usually has four balanced seasons that look like what you'd expect.

    What do you expect a Korean New Years celebration will be like?

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    1. I expect it to be as Korean as possible, of course. =oP But in all seriousness, I expect there will be a festival with many of the same food at Chuseok and more. I believe there are games that will be played. I'd have to look those up and post about it nearing the end of this year.

      Thank you for your continued support!

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  2. I enjoyed reading this post and how you included my favorite song from RENT and made me want to read more. You go into a lot of detail about this topic and it was well written.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, it's one of my favorite musicals too! I'm really glad to hear your input on the seasons post because I was concerned it was either too much or not enough information. Thanks for reading!

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