Daeboreum:A festival full of folk magic

This is the 13th in a series of articles highlighting tourism spots in Seoul. The useful guide for planning weekend trips in the capital city will help readers rediscover Seoul. - Ed.



The first lunar month in Korea is a month of festivals. Two of Korea`s major holidays, New Year`s Day and Daeboreum (Jan. 15 in the lunar calendar), are celebrated in that month. Korea as a traditional society has divided a year into 24 lunar periods. Even now, Koreans consider Lunar New Year`s Day the beginning of a new year and celebrate it by wearing new clothing, visiting and bowing to elders, and eating rice cake soup, "tteokguk" -- a traditional dish that symbolizes an additional year of your life. As many people flock to their hometown to get together with their family, the special phenomenon dubbed "national migration" is witnessed every Lunar New Year`s holiday.

If Lunar New Year`s Day is a family-oriented holiday, Daeboreum is community-oriented. Although many community events have disappeared with urbanization and modernization, some Daeboreum events remain.



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Daeboreum and Namsangol Hanok Village

Daeboreum falls on Feb. 9 this year. The reason Jan. 15 in the lunar calendar is called "Daeboreum" lies in the Korean belief that the full moon in January is the biggest and brightest one of the year.



Daeboreum is celebrated with a variety of festivals at every corner of the nation. In Seoul, the best place to go is perhaps Namsangol Hanok Village. Here, 5 Korean traditional houses scattered across Seoul were gathered and restored for preservation. The houses, which are bigger than ordinary houses were in Joseon times, each belonged to a queen`s parents, the father-in-law of a king, the son-in-law of a king, a military official, and a carpenter.



Namsangol Hanok Village celebrates Daeboreum on Feb. 8-9 this year. The highlight of all Daeboreum festivals used to be the greeting of the moon from the top of a mountain. It is said that people competed to be the first to climb to the top with torches in their hands due to the folk belief that whoever sees the moon first is blessed with good luck.



Namsangol Hanok Village does not hold a mountain climbing event. Instead, people gather there to witness the big full moon rise above Namsan. Farmers often predicted their yearly harvest based on the color of the moon on Daeboreum. For instance, they believed that pale moonlight would bring frequent rain and red moonlight draught, while dim moonlight would signify a year of good harvest and hazy moonlight a year of bad harvest.





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Heat-spell jinx and `sharp-ear wine`

On Daeboreum, you`d better be an early bird if you want to survive the humid Korean summer. One thing you should do early in the morning is to "sell" summer heat to others. Wake up early, preferably before sunrise, and call a family member or a close friend and, when he or she responds, cast a spell on them by saying, "buy my summer heat." It means that the person you called will suffer twice as much from the summer heat while you enjoy a cool summer.



Now that you have `sold` your summer heat, it`s time to drink special wine that is said to have the power to give you sharp hearing. Drink the wine cold in the morning and you will be able to hear a pin drop and good news all year long. On Daeboreum, visitors to Namsangol Hanok Village have the opportunity to taste the so-called "sharp-ear" wine in the courtyard. But remember that one drink is enough to do the trick.







Bureom, Ogokbab, and Bokssam

On Daeboreum, Namsangol Hanok Village sells various nuts called "bureom" in the courtyard. Something Koreans do in the morning on Daeboreum is eating bureom -- nuts such as walnuts, chestnuts, pine nuts, peanuts, and ginkgo nuts -- by cracking them open with their teeth. When cracking a nut, you should do it in a single bite. Cracking bureom on Daeboreum is supposed to drive away evil spirits, prevent skin disease and keep your teeth healthy.

Daeboreum is also characterized by two special dishes, ogokbab -- rice cooked with five different kinds of grain -- and bokssam -- ogokbab wrapped in vegetables or seaweed. Koreans usually cook rice alone or with one or two types of grain. However, they prepare ogokbab on Daeboreum by adding various grains, such as millet, beans and barley. It is said that one should share ogokbab with at least three neighbors and eat 9 meals instead of the normal 3 on Daeboreum for good luck. Namsangol Hanok Village will serve ogokbab and bokssam for 40 minutes starting 4 p.m. on Feb. 8 and 9 in the courtyard.





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Making Wishes, Making Bujeok, and Playing Folk Games

A long wooden pole is set up in the courtyard of Namsangol Hanok Village. Called "sotdae" in Korean, this totem pole traditionally represents villagers` wishes for luck and prosperity and serves as the village guardian. In Namsangol Hanok Village, visitors can write their wishes on pieces of paper and hang them on the sotdae.

Namsangol Hanok Village also sells a variety of bujeok or charms for good luck, prosperity, safety, and the like. Believed to ward off evil spirits, a Korean bujeok is a small piece of paper with drawings of various patterns with various symbolic meanings.

In addition, visitors to Namsangol Hanok Village can experience a variety of Korean folk games. They can fly kites they made themselves in the village, trundle hoops, play shuttlecock kicking ("jegi chagi" in Korean) and jump the Korean seesaw ("neol ttwigi" in Korean). They can also experience rice cake making by pounding glutinous rice flour batter with a rice cake hammer called "tteokme."







Jisin Bapgi and Daljip Taeugi

Jisin bapgi is held at 5 p.m. on Daeboreum at Namsangol Hanok Village. As a popular folk entertainment held on Daeboreum, jisin bapgi is designed to give prayers to the land god ("jisin" in Korean) for prosperity and expel evil spirits by stomping on the ground around the village. Led by a percussion ensemble consisting of gongs and drums, village people visit each house to appease the land god and wish good luck. The head of the family then serves them with food and drink and offers them rice or money.

When the moon rises and darkness looms, "daljip taeugi" is performed. Literally meaning "burning moon houses," daljip taeugi is a folk entertainment in which villagers offer a rite to the moon, burn moon-shaped objects made with pine twigs and straw, and dance around the fire. This will take place at around 7 p.m. Daljip taewugi and dalmaji (literally meaning "greeting the moon") are the major events held on Daeboreum.





[Activities]

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Bongsan Mask Dance

Namsangol Hanok Village features a Bongsan mask dance performance at 6 p.m. in Cheonugak on Daeboreum. Originating from Hwanghae-do in Korea, Bongsan mask dance is designated as cultural treasure No. 17 and involves some 36 characters including monks, old men, shamans, lions, and monkeys and 27 masks. The lion dance by two performers is particularly well known.





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Seoul Millennium Time Capsule Plaza

On the south of Namsangol Hanok Village is Seoul Millennium Time Capsule Plaza. This is the place where 600 items that represent Seoul and life in Seoul were put in a time capsule shaped like the Bosingak Bell and buried in 1994 in commemoration of the 600th anniversary of Seoul as the nation`s capital. The capsule is to be opened in 2394.



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Street Food in Winter

The entrance to Namsangol Hanok Village is full of street food Koreans love. Among them, the fish-shaped pastry with red bean paste inside called "bungeobbang" is one of the most popular. Skewered food, including steamed fish cakes and hot dogs, is also common. In addition, there are some traditional sweets that adult Koreans are familiar with, such as "dalgona," made with sugar and baking soda, and pumpkin taffy made with sugar and pumpkin. Steamed chrysalides of silk worms ? known as ppondegi -- are also a favorite snack Koreans used to love in the past.







By Heo Shi-myung