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Andong Bronze Bridge-Walking
안동놋다리밟기 ( 安東- , Andong Notdari Bapgi )
Andong Notdari Bapgi (Kor. 안동놋다리밟기, Chin. 安東-, lit. Andong bronze bridge-walking) is a collective game played by the women of Andong, North Gyeongsang Province after the sunset on the Great Full Moon Day (the fifteenth of the first lunar month). In 1985 Andong Notdari Bapgi was designated as North Gyeongsang Province Intangible Cultural Treasure No. 7. The word notdari (Kor. 놋다리) might mean “brass bridge” (Chin. 銅橋) or “bridge as hard as brass”. According to another theory, notdari is a phonetic
Korean Seasonal Customs -
Arrow Throwing
투호 ( 投壺 , Tuho )
Tuho (Kor. 투호, Chin. 投壺, lit. throwing into a vase) is a game in which players are divided into two teams and throw arrows into a vase placed at a certain distance. The vases into which the arrows are thrown vary both in size and shape. The size of the arrows also differs, and each player is given a set of twelve arrows. Points are earned depending on the proximitiy of the arrow to the center of the vase. The game originated in China prior to the Han dynasty (BCE 206 - CE 220). It is mentioned i
Korean Seasonal Customs -
Beginning of Spring
입춘 ( 立春 , Ipchun )
Ipchun (Kor. 입춘, Chin. 立春, Beginning of Spring), the first of the twenty four solar terms, occurs between Daehan (Kor. 대한, Chin. 大寒, lit. Great Cold) and Usu (Kor. 우수, Chin. 雨水, lit. The First Rainfall of the Year) and falls approximately on February fourth on the Gregorian calendar. On this day the Ecliptic rises to 315° from the horizon. In the lunar calendar, Ipchun lands on the first month of the year. Ipchun can occur twice in some years, once in January and once in the following December.
Korean Seasonal Customs -
Bridge-Walking
다리밟기 ( 踏桥 , Dari Bapgi )
Dari-bapgi (Kor. 다리밟기, lit. treading on the bridge) is the custom of walking on a bridge during the night of the first full moon of the year (Great Full Moon Festival, the fifteenth of the first lunar month). It can also be referred to with the Sino-Korean word ‘dapgyo’ (Kor. 답교, Chin. 踏橋). The custom is documented in the Jibong Yuseol (Kor. 지봉유설, Chin. 芝峯類說, Topical Discourses of Jibong) written during the reign of King Seonjo (1552-1608). In this book, bridge-walking is recorded under the name
Korean Seasonal Customs -
Bukcheong Lion Play
북청사자놀음 ( 北靑獅子- , Bukcheong Saja Noreum )
Bukcheong Saja Noreum (Kor. 북청사자놀음, Chin. 北靑獅子-, lit. Bukcheong Lion Play) is a mask play performed on the Great Full Moon Day (the fifteenth of the first lunar month) in the Bukcheong-gun area of South Hamgyeong Province. In 1967 the performance was designated as Important Intangible Cultural Treasure No. 15. This dance drama was held in all villages within Bukcheong-gun’s jurisdiction, i.e. in eleven myeon and three eup. Prior to the festival between the fourth and fourteenth of the first luna
Korean Seasonal Customs -
Burning the Moon House
달집태우기 ( 烧月亮屋 , Daljip Taeugi )
Daljip taeugi (Kor. 달집태우기, lit. burning the Moon House) was a festive folk custom celebrating the Great Full Moon Festival, which fell on the fifteenth of the first lunar month. During this festival, participants built daljip (Kor. 달집, lit. moon house), a large bonfire structure, with fresh branches of a pine tree and other logs, and set it on fire with the rise of the full moon, praying for fortune and prevention from evil. The custom is referred to by different names according to the region, w
Korean Seasonal Customs -
Card Gambling
투전 ( 鬪錢 , Tujeon )
Tujeon (Kor. 투전, Chin. 鬪錢/鬪牋/投牋) is a card game played with long rectangular numbered cards decorated with animal motifs and characters on one side. The cards are made with oiled paper and are 10 to 20cm long and approximately the width of a finger. A deck can consist of 25, 40, 50, 60 or 80 cards with the 40-card deck being the most widely used. There are a variety of games that use tujeon cards; in most of these games the player who accumulates the highest-numbered cards wins. So
Korean Seasonal Customs -
Cinnamon Punch
수정과 ( 水正果 , Sujeonggwa )
Cinnamon punch called sujeonggwa (Kor. 수정과, Chin. 水正果) is a Korean traditional beverage made from dried persimmons, cinnamon, and ginger and garnished with pine nuts. In the “Haedong Jukji” (Kor. 해동죽지, Chin. 海東竹枝, Bamboo Branches in Korea, 1925), the beverage is referred to as baekjeho (Kor. 백제호, Chin. 白醍醐, lit. white milky beverage) or baeksiseongho (Kor. 백시성호, Chin. 白柿醒醐, lit. white persimmon beverage) because of the white color of sugar crystallized on the surface of drie
Korean Seasonal Customs -
Communal New Year‘s Greetings
도배 ( 都拜 , Dobae )
Dobae (Kor. 도배, Chin, 都拜, lit. communal bows) refers to the tradition of the members of a community gathering together to exchange New Year’s greetings. This communal ceremony was established to pay one’s respects to the village elders. It also serves the purpose of strengthening solidarity of the members by making New Year‘s plans for the entire community. According to Choe Geung-hui (86), a village head of Swaeun-dong in Donghae, Gangwon Province, when he was a child, the male memb
Korean Seasonal Customs -
Crunching Nuts
부럼깨기 ( 碎坚果 , Bureom Kkaegi )
Bureom kkaegi (Kor. 부럼깨기, lit. boil crunching) is a custom observed on the morning of the fifteenth of the first lunar month (Jeongwol Daeboreum, Kor. 정월 대보름, Great Full Moon Day). Family members gather around a basket full of nuts and crunch them open with their teeth. According to popular belief, this action helps prevent boils and strengthens one’s teeth. The custom is also known as buseureom (bureom) kkaemulgi (Kor. 부스럼 깨물기, 부럼 깨물기). The word buseureom or bureom stands for “boil”, but is als
Korean Seasonal Customs
