February 1st was Seol, or Lunar New Year’s Day, one of the greatest traditional holiday in Korea, and next Tuesday is the first full moon of the year. These first fifteen days of a lunar new year are when we Koreans practice various seasonal customs wishing for a good harvest or good health for our loved ones. Among the children’s plays enjoyed during this time of the year was flying kites. In Samguksagi삼국사기, the historical account of the Three Kingdoms, there is an account of General Kim Yu-sin김유신 who boosted the morale of his troops by flying kites on fire. There are also other historical documentations of how kites were flown for military purposes. But kite-flying was one of children’s favorite winter pastimes. Children used to fight with their kites by stiffening the kite strings with glue and severing other kite strings. Kites were flown until the first full moon of the year and then let go on that day, an act meant to send off the year’s bad fortune along with the kite. Jwibulnori쥐불놀이 is another favorite wintertime tradition. Koreans in the old days used to gather straw on empty rice paddies and light the straw on fire. This custom was performed to kill pest eggs or rats. It was believed that the stronger the fire burned, the better the year’s harvest would be. More recently, children would poke holes at the bottom of empty cans and put ember or burning coal briquettes in them and spin them. Imagine how impressive and amusing those brightly lit cans would have looked in the dark. Today’s first piece is “Jwibulnori” performed by traditional ensemble Byulmaru.

Jwibulnori/ Performed by Byulmaru

Another iconic custom in lunar January is cracking nuts with your teeth. People in the old days believed that biting down on chestnuts, walnuts, gingko or pine nuts made your teeth stronger and the skin healthier. It was, of course, a superstition, but nuts made for a good snack food when food was not plentiful and provided much needed fat and other nutrients to help keep the skin healthy without blemishes or boils. Another tradition is to eat foods consisting of the one of the five grains: barley, black beans, sorghum, red beans, or millet. Eating these different grains was a health-boosting tradition, but it also represented people’s wish to harvest a lot of such grains. It was also considered luckier if three families with different surnames shared these grains, naturally prompting people to share food. Children would band together and travel to different houses to ask for food, which they would eat outside. It was believed that children who got to eat like this would grow up big and strong. It certainly takes a whole village to raise a child. One of the most beloved traditions in lunar January was the mask dance. Centuries ago, when there was no TV or movies, watching people in strange and funny masks dance the night away would have been the greatest entertainment for ordinary folks. Let’s listen to “Mask Dance” performed by folk band Dulsori.

Mask Dance/ Performed by Dulsori

Each region of Korea has its distinct mask dance. So many mask dances have been designated as national intangible cultural assets that it’s hard to name them all. But among the most well-known ones are Bongsan봉산 mask dance and Bukcheong북청 Lion Dance from the North Korean region, Tongyeong Ogwangdae통영오광대 Dance from the Busan and Gyeongnam region, and Gangneung Gwanno강능관노 Mask Dance from Gangwon-do Province. The Cultural Heritage Administration has reportedly submitted papers to have these mask dances inscribed as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritages of Humanity. Mask dance probably first began as a shamanistic practice in ancient times to wish for successful hunting. By the era of the Three Kingdoms, it has become an art and Cheoyongmu처용무 of the Unified Silla Kingdom is inherited to this day as a classic dance piece. In the Joseon era, mask dances served as a means for common folks to make fun of the ruling class. Knowing how ordinary people relieved their stress and grievances through dance, noblemen allowed them to have fun at those occasions instead of stopping them. 

Let’s wrap up this week’s episode with “Lion Dance” from Bukcheong Lion Dance with drummer Yeo Jae-seong and tungso players Dong Seon-bon and Koh Jang-wook.

Lion Dance/ Drum by Yeo Jae-seong, tungso by Dong Seon-bon and Koh Jang-wook