This week marks the start of the new year in lunar-based calendars, and the New Year’s Day is the largest holiday of the year in Korean and East Asian cultures.  The New Year’s Day celebrations can be quite elaborate depending on a family’s fealty to cultural traditions, but the exact practices vary between families depending on religious practices, cultural background, number of family members, and the hometown of the family.  This is the year of the Dragon, and that has meant that the animal has become quite prevalent throughout the country in the past few weeks.

At the heart of the holiday is a certain introspection regarding one’s age and ancestors.  Since the Korean age system is based around New Year’s day (one’s age increases for everyone in the country simultaneously on New Year’s day, as opposed to on birthdays) Acknowledging and honoring one’s ancestors is at the heart of the event, and many Koreans will trek back to their ancestral hometowns to visit grave sites of previous generations of their family.  At the same time, it is a time to commemorate another year of life and the continuing passage of time.

I participated in the traditions with a friend of mine here in Korea.  The celebration began in the early morning with the cooking of a banquet feast, including 떡국 (Tteokguk), which is the traditional food eaten only during New Year’s.

A colorful feast of fruits and various Korean staple dishes

In the same room as the food are pictures of the family’s ancestors on the wall.  Before the food is eaten, the men in the family (sons and fathers) performed a series of traditional bows to honor the ancestors before enjoying the breakfast.  Due to the small dining room, this particular family had men eat first, before leaving and allowing the women to eat as a group.

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Markets are quite common throughout Korea, and each has their own reputation for the kind of goods that are for sale.  Some markets are known for their fabrics, while others might be known for their imported goods or foods.  This tends to mean that there is no one-stop shop for all goods you want, but it does mean that there is incredible selection if you know what you are looking for and go to the right place.

I visited Gwangjang Market a few days ago, which the Korea Tourism agency bills as the “first” market in the country (not really sure on how they define that though).  The place is also apparently known for its hanbok wedding gowns (the formal and traditional dress of the wedding couple) and thus it serves up many stores with these gowns available in a dazzling palette of colors.  Outside of the shopping, numerous food vendors were dispersed throughout the walkways offering snacks for the shoppers.

In addition to shopping, I managed to get a wonderful picture of large-flake snow falling in Korea.  The snow, when it isn’t making the place dangerous, can be quite beautiful at times (although it is still not enough to get me to leave California permanently!)

Sign to the opening of Kwangjang Market

Walkway in the market (and the ceiling colors are conspiratorially similar to the colors of the clothes)

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A few weeks ago, I visited Suwon, a fairly large city just to the south of Seoul.  The city is famous for Hwaseong Fortress, a castle from the Joseon Dynasty that is today designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Suwon is the only enclosed city in Korea, and the walls of the fortress remain quite visible.

Part of the fortress sits on top of a small mountain, providing a panoramic view of Suwon

The Fortress itself is quite extensive, providing facilities for the royals of the Joseon Dynasty

The gorgeous colors of the architecture mix well with dusk

A section of the wall that encloses Suwon (daytime)

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