Seollal – Korean Lunar Year. What is it and what are the traditions?

1. What and when is Seollal

2. Who celebrates it

3. What are the traditions

4. What and how do we wish people on Seollal

5. What should foreigners do during Seollal

What and when is Seollal

Image by Freepik

Seollal/ 설날 is considered to be one of the most significant holidays in South Korea.

It is similar to the Gregorian calendar’s New Year’s Eve however; it does not take place on 31st December. The holidays are celebrated over a few days and it symbolizes the gathering of families while eating traditional dishes, playing games, and having other specific activities such as rituals.

Due to following the Lunar calendar, Seollal could be falling under a different date every year. This year Seollal will be from February 9th to February 11th but for example next year it will be during the period from January 29th – January 31st.

Who celebrates it

The Korean Lunar year is celebrated by most people in this country but even if it is called “Korean” it is simply the Lunar year which is celebrated by many other Asian countries. Therefore, the Lunar year is celebrated by each country in its own way with its own traditions however, they all enjoy the same thing: time with family.

What are the traditions

There are a few traditions that Korean people have to follow during the Seollal holidays.

1. 한복

Even if Sebae is the first thing people do once they arrive home, this happens only after they put on the traditional Korean costume Hanbok/한복.

2. 세배

The holidays start off with people going back to their hometown or where is the elders' home. This is necessary because the first tradition they respect is to do the Sebae/세배.

Younger Korean have to slowly start to kneel while approaching the floor and do a full bowing in front of the elders of the family (usually the grandparents of each side of their parents or the oldest family members alive). It is called to “pay your respects to the elders”.

3. Wishes

While the younger Koreans do the Sebae they usually say 새해복 많이받으세요 which is the equivalent of “Happy new year!” but for a better translation “Have a lot of good luck in the new year!” can be used.

After this, when the bow is complete and the youngers get up the elders will reply with their wishes for the new year as well. The most common ones are wishing them to be healthy or to get married (if they came of age).

4. The envelope with money/ 세뱃돈

Once both sides have finished giving their wishes, most elders will give the younger ones money (usually put in an envelope). In some families, this is a tradition not only followed by the elders but most family members who are not children anymore and have a job will give money to those still in their younger ages.

This tradition is very similar to the Chinese one called (Lucky) Red Envelope.

5. Charye/ 차례

Charye is a ritual in which the ancestors of the family are worshipped by preparing a table on which they arrange: ancestral tablet, food, cutlery, candles, incense and incense burner, Korean wine, and a glass.

6. Games

There are a few traditional games to play while celebrating Seollal, especially with the younger ones. You can read about most of them here.

7. Food

• Tteokduk/떡국 - rice cake slices soup (also with meat slices and seaweed)

• Tteok/떡 - rice cake (eating them as a symbol of turning one year older)

• Jeon/전 - widely known as Korean pancake

• Galbijjim/갈비찜 - braised beef short ribs

• Mandu/만두 - Korean dumplings

• Japchae/잡채 - stir-fried glass noodles and vegetables

• Sihkye/식혜 - sweet Korean rice beverage

• Hangwa/한과 - Korean sweet made of rice flour, pine pollen, black sesame, chestnut, and soybean

What and how do we wish people on Seollal

As we previously mentioned, the most used way to express your wishes on Seollal is to say “새해복 많이받으세요”. This is the formal way. Other forms are:

• 새해복많이받아(informal, only accepted between friends and family members)

• 행복한새해되세요(formal)

• 새해복많이받으십시오(very formal)

What should foreigners do during Seollal

Being a stranger in a country with very different customs than yours could be very difficult. During Seollal, unless you are a person who celebrates the Lunar year is quite an interesting period to spend time in Korea.

One should be aware of the fact that a few days before, during, and after Seollal, the whole country will be very crowdy and noisy. People will fly, take busses, cars, and trains to go back home or to visit older relatives and spend Seollal with them. Therefore, be very careful how you organize your time and places you want to go during these days since it will be very crowded and unpredictable.

People who wish to visit Korea during Seollal should also re-consider since most of the places will be either closed or have special working hours.

For people who already live in Korea, there could be a few options to experience the traditions of Seollal:

1. Get invited by a Korean friend to spend Seollal with their family

2. Live in a Hasukjib/하숙집 where old ladies will offer this experience to you

3. Some churches will offer a free invitation to participate in these traditions

4. Participate in events prepared by different organizations/NGOs for foreigners during this holiday

Advice for foreigners living in Korea during Seollal:

• avoid special packages of Spam, Tteok, fruits, etc during Seollal promotions. They are in fact more expensive even if they are advertised as being a great opportunity to buy them;

• avoid traveling during the main period of 3 days +few days before and after;

• be sure to wear a mask in crowded places;

• check in advance with places if they are open before going directly there.

새해복 많이받으세요!