Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Nepal

Korean Lunar New Year (Seollal)

Let’s get to know in detail about one of the most important traditional holidays for Koreans, Seollal. Korean Lunar New Year or Seollal (설날) is the first day of the Korean calendar. As the name indicates, it is dependent on the lunar calendar and is one of the most important traditional Korean holidays. The celebration usually lasts three days: beginning the day before and ending the day after. Korean New Year generally occurs on the second new moon after the winter solstice in January or February. In case there is an intercalary eleventh or twelfth month in the lead-up to the New Year, the New Year falls on the third new moon after the solstice. It is the Korean version of Chinese New Year. Korean Lunar New Year and Chinese New Year are usually celebrated at the same time but every several years they tend to fall a day apart. Although Korean Lunar New Year shares similarities with New Year’s celebrations in countries like Vietnam and China, it holds its own singularities too.

Hanbok:

During this time, many Koreans return to their hometowns to visit their parents and other relatives. Koreans not only travel within the country, but many Koreans travel from overseas to visit their families for this annual holiday as it is considered respectful and important to attend the holiday. People also consider it respectful to visit their mothers- and fathers-in-law during the Korean New Year. During Seollal, Koreans put on their traditional Korean clothes, called Hanbok with bright and pretty colors which symbolize hopes for a bright future and go to their elders’ homes to celebrate this festival together. Koreans wear Hanbok for important events like Seollal, weddings, child's first birthday, etc.

Charye:

Koreans gather from all over Korea and even overseas at the house of their oldest male relative to perform ancestral rites called charye and pay their respects to both ancestors and elders. Charye is a memorial service that prays for the peace and good health of the ancestors as they believe that their ancestors return to enjoy the ritual food prepared for them on Seollal. The charye table is set with a variety of food which must have nice shapes and colors and must be fresh. The ritual food for Charye includes rice cake soup (tteokguk), braised short ribs (galbijjim), sweet potato noodles (japchae), Korean pancakes (jeon), Korean traditional cookies (hangwa), fruits and a dozen other dishes made of fish, meat and vegetables.

New Year’s bow (Sebae):

New Year’s bow (Sebae) is performed by young family members by doing deep bow to their elder relatives including parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles and wishing them a happy New Year by reciting a greeting “receive a lot of luck in the New Year” (saehae bok manhi badeuseyo). The way of performing the New Year’s bow differs for males and females. They also present gifts to the elders and exchange blessings for good health and fortune. The young family members get New Year’s money (sebaedon) in return from the elders. The New Year’s moneys usually put into fortune pouch (bokjumeoni) which is a silk or cotton embroidered pouch. The embroideries in the pouch have various auspicious symbols that are believed to bring fortune.

Eating rice cake soup (Tteokguk):

Rice cake soup or Tteokguk is the traditional food of Seollal. It.  It is a soup made of white rice cake (tteok), beef, egg and vegetables.  The rice cake soup represents piety, dignity and is part of the New Year, new age celebration. According to Korean culture, Lunar New Year marks a traditional celebration of growing a year older as Koreans count age a bit differently than other parts of the world. Koreans eat tteokguk with family members to symbolize and celebrate that they’ve become a year older. It is believed that one gets one year older by finishing a bowl of tteokguk.

Fun time with family:

Korean New Year is associated with many traditional games. During seollal, Korean families often involve in playing games like yutnori,yeonnaligi,Go-stop, jegichagi and tuho. Yutnori is a traditional family board game which still remains popular. Yeonnaligi is a game to fly rectangle kites called Yeon. Go-stop, jegichagi and tuho are also popular games people play during the Korean New Year. These games are a great way for everyone to unwind and have some fun with family members. Koreans spend the rest of their day sharing stories, watching the TV Seollal specials or going to watch a movie with their family members.  

By- Shreeya Maskey