People supposedly feel colder at the beginning of winter rather than in mid-season, because they hesitate to put on warm clothes to convince themselves that winter is still far away. Writer Shin Young-bok(신영복) wrote in his essay, “Contemplations from Prison,” that poor people claim that it’s easier to live in the summer than in the winter, but that those in prison prefer winter. It’s because prisoners are grateful for the warmth of other human beings when the temperature plunges below zero. But prison inmates are not the only ones who feel grateful for people’s company in the winter. In one way or another, we all appreciate our family and friends around this time of the year. Let’s begin this week’s episode with the gugak(구각) ensemble Soul Jigi(지기) singing “Warm Light on a Winter Day.” Here are the lyrics for you to enjoy the song even more. 

To illuminate you with the warm light on a warm day

To let you taste the plumpness of the water parsley

You may not lack anything, but I’m the one who cannot forget you.

Music 1: “Warm Light on a Winter Day”/ Sung by Soul Jigi

It must have been really difficult in the wintertime for people in the old days. All they had to wear to stave off the cold was cotton clothes stuffed with wool or cotton balls, which must have been heavy and severely lacking in warmth compared to the goose down outerwear we enjoy these days. There were people who didn’t even have that much to keep themselves warm during the winter. 

Also, imagine how hard it must have been for women to wash those clothes outside at the river or lake. In the winter, they sometimes had to break ice to do laundry. But the cold didn’t deter children from having fun. Nothing could keep them from riding sleds or spinning tops on the frozen rivers. Back then, children were kept warm in schoolrooms with kerosene-burning stoves. They would put their tin lunch boxes on top of the stove to have hot lunch, but the ones at the bottom of the stack would often burn to the crisp. Students would sometimes roast sweet potatoes or chestnuts in the stove for afternoon snacks. All these are fond memories from the old days. It’s kind of sad that today’s children don’t have these experiences, since they have electric heaters or central heating. Coming up next is a song titled “The Wind Is Blowing,” adapted from the folk song “Roasted Chestnut Song,” and performed by the gugak(구각) band Playground. 

Music 2: “The Wind Is Blowing”/ Performed by Playground

The history of “Roasted Chestnut Song” isn’t that long, dating back to the early 1900s. The waters off Yeonpyeongdo(연평도) Island used to be full of yellow corvina at the time, making fishermen rich fairly easily and inspiring the line that goes, “The wind of money is blowing in the Yeonpyeong(연평도) Sea.” Another favorite winter memory for Koreans ironically has to do with a Christian holiday, Christmas. As recently as a couple of decades ago, Christmas was considered the biggest holiday of the year regardless of people’s religion. Stores were decorated in tinsels, lights and holiday ornaments, and Christmas carols were played all day long, and people would exchange colorful Christmas cards. It was natural for most Koreans to take the holiday as an occasion to party with their friends and family. But ever since the authorities revised the laws to allocate more royalties to music creators, the stores and cafes that were already struggling financially stopped playing Christmas music altogether in fear of paying more money for the carols. The disappearance of Christmas music somehow dampened the festive holiday mood. As a result it has become a lot quieter and calmer in Korea during Christmas time. But we would feel kind of let down if we didn’t hear at least one Christmas song, since the holiday is coming up next week. Here’s the gayageum(가야금) version of “Silent Night, Holy Night” performed by Jung Gil-seon(정길선). 

Music 3: “Silent Night, Holy Night”/ Gayageum by Jung Gil-seon