What is Jeongweol Daeboreum (정월대보름)?
Today is January 15th, according to the lunar calendar.
IIt is known as Jeongweol Daeboreum in Korea and the Lantern Festival in Taiwan.
The first month of the year is known as Jeongweol (정월).
Dae (대) translates to big.
The 15th day is indicated by the Korean term boreum (보름). It's a full moon day.
The first full moon of the year is referred to as Jeongwol Daeboreum.
Daeboreum is the short form of the word.
Koreans also celebrate Chuseok, the full moon day in August.
The full moon is significant in agrarian societies such as Korea and many other Asian countries as a symbol of the mother earth and abundance.
When you refer to the 15th day of a month, it is Boreum (보름).
When you refer to the full moon in the sky, it is Boreum-dal (보름달).
What do Koreans eat on Jeongweol Daeboreum?
Yak-sik 약밥 a.k.a.Yak-bap 약밥
Ogok-bap 오곡밥
Bureom 부럼
Muguen-namul 묵은 나물
Gwibalgi-sul 귀밝이술
Yak-sik, Yak-bap (약식, 약밥)
Yak: medicine, medicinal (The honey-based food is referred to as yak.)
Sik: Food
Bap: steamed rice
Eating Yak-bap on Daeboreum can be traced back to Silla.
There's a story behind it.
Soji of Silla ruled Silla from 479 to 500.
King Soji went for a walk to a nearby pond one day.
He was concerned about Silla's inability to withstand frequent invasions.
A crow then flew towards the king and dropped a shiny box.
When King Soji picked up the box, he noticed the writing on it.
"If you open the box, two men will perish. If not, one man will perish."
His vassals were worried that one man might be the king.
When the king opened the box, there was another writing inside.
"Use an arrow to shoot the Zither box."
The king had a strange feeling and returned to the royal palace.
He shot an arrow at the zither box in his room.
When he opened the zither box, he discovered a dead man.
It was later revealed that the man and a court lady plotted to assassinate the king.
The king desired to repay the crow's kindness, and his vassals suggested that rice be prepared for the crow.
The king declared Daeboreum as Crow Day to commemorate this event.
The king made rice with valuable ingredients like chestnuts, pinenuts, and dates.
On Jeongweol Daeboreum, this is why people eat yak-sik.
Ordinary people who couldn't afford these ingredients made Ogok-bap instead.
Ogok-bap (오곡밥)
O(five) gok (grain) bap (steamed rice)
Ogok-bap is a type of multigrain rice.
Sweet rice, sorghum, millet, red beans, and black beans are the five most commonly used grains.
Because Jeongweol Daeboreum is a farming holiday, people eat traditional grains to wish for a bountiful harvest this year.
Bureum 부럼
Bureum is a Korean word that refers to hard shelled nuts such as peanuts (땅콩), walnuts (호두), maidenhair tree nuts (은행), and pine nuts(잣).
In Korean, bureum refers to skin boils.
They believed that cracking bureum helps to keep teeth strong and prevents skin boils.
Muguen-namul (묵은 나물)
Namul is a Korean word that means mountain herbs.
On Jeongweol Daeboreum, people eat Muguen-namul (묵은 나물).
Mugeun (묵은) is Korean for old.
Muguen-namul are sun-dried greens that were dried over the summer.
People thought that eating mugeun-namul would keep them cool in the summer heat.
It's possible because they're high in vitamins and nutrients.
The sale of heat (더위 팔기)
On this day, a funny joke is to call someone's name and then dump the upcoming summer heat on the person who responds.
Wait for your friend to respond after calling their name.
Gwibalgi-sul (귀밝이술)
Its literal meaning is "wine that improves hearing".
On this day, people drink a cup of cheongju (; refined rice wine) before breakfast, believing that it will improve their hearing and bring them good fortune for the year.
It is recommended that you drink it cold.
Imyeongju 이명주(耳明酒) is a Sino-Korean word for Gwibalgi-sul.