Hallyu or the Korean cultural wave is again gaining attention with the worldwide popularity of the South Korean boyband BTS and an interesting online post titled “unexpected hallyu.” An American internet shopping mall was selling “homi,” a short-handled hoe traditionally used by Korean farmers. The shopping site showed assorted homis with drawings and photos and described the “homi” as an Asian hand cultivator, which is used for planting, digging the ground for sowing, softening the ground around plants, removing weeds, and many other purposes. It was cited as a tool that can be used for an extended period and as being especially great for gardeners with arthritis. Homi is a common tool in Korea, but a strange yet convenient tool for foreigners. Today’s episode begins with a folk song from the western regions about this tool titled “Song of Homi.” This version is sung by master singer Oh Bok-nyeo (오복녀).

Music 1: Song of Homi/ Sung by Oh Bok-nyeo

The song’s refrain contains various descriptions of farmers and their work. Homi is a small, lightweight, and easy-to-use tool, indispensable for Korean farmers and gardeners. It’s mainly used to dig the ground for sowing or pulling out weeds. Around mid-July by the lunar calendar, Korean farmers celebrate a seasonal milestone called “baekjung백중.” That’s when they wrap up weeding and take a short break until the fall harvest. The name baekjung백중 was derived from “baekjong백종,” meaning a hundred varieties, because it was around this time of the year when many different fruits and vegetables became available. That day was also called “homissit호미씻,” referring to washing the well-used homi, or the day of the servants, when landowners let their servants take a break gave them extra money to enjoy their day off. Also, on the last day of weeding, a village would pick the best farmer of the year and honor him by giving him a ride on an ox. It was generally a day when farmers who worked hard under the hot summer sun took a break from their work and rested up for the coming fall. Now, let’s listen to two farming songs from the Goyang area in Gyeonggi Province – Bang’a Taryeong and Holori Taryeong – sung by Goyang Field Song Preservation Society. 

Music 2: Bang’a Taryeong, Holori Taryeong/ Sung by Goyang Field Song Preservation Society

Baekjung is also a day of remembrance when Koreans hold memorial services for their dead parents. There is an interesting story related to this day. One of Buddha’s disciples, who supposedly had a supernatural power, wanted to see how his deceased mother was doing on the other side. He would have missed her badly even if she was in heaven, but his mother must have sinned a lot while living, because she was suffering in hell. The disciple was so heartbroken that he cooked a hundred different dishes on Baekjung and served the food to poor people in order to save her from the inferno with his charitable act and love for his mother. This is why Buddhists still hold memorial services for their deceased ancestors on Baekjung. This day is for both the living and the dead, because the living get to enjoy a rest after a long, hard farming season and the dead get remembered by their descendants. Let’s conclude this episode of Sounds of Korea with Lee Chun-hee (이춘희) singing “Hoesimgok.”

Music 3: Hoesimgok/ Sung by Lee Chun-hee