

Seolbim means New Year clothes, so it means that the hanbok is made specifically for Seollal. Seolbim (설빔) is nothing but a special set of hanbok. Holiday ClothingĪs it is a traditional celebration, people wear their hanbok (한복) or other traditional clothing attire.

Jegichagi (제기차기), a game similar to playing footbag, paengi (팽이), spinning tops, and flying kites are also common during the holiday.

Other staple dishes of the day include traditional dishes like japchae (잡채), stir-fried noodles with meat and vegetables, and galbi-jjim (갈비찜), braised short ribs. There are many varieties, and many of them are served during the feast. It is a savory pancake made with vegetables. The soup also represents longevity, new beginnings, and fortune.Īnother common Korean dish that you’ll find during the festive celebrations is Jeon (전) or buchimgae (부침개). These are reflected by the clear broth and the white rice cakes in tteokbuk.

The dish is symbolic of starting the year with a clean mind and body. It is a traditional soup made with the main ingredients of sliced rice cakes, egg, beef, and vegetables. The main dish of the traditional foods is tteokguk (떡국). There are all kinds of Korean dishes included in the feast. Traditional Festive FoodĪs Seollal is a family celebration, it means that it’s a big family feast time. After the rite is completed, the family sits together and eats the ritual food. This ritual expresses respect and gratitude to one’s ancestors. On the day of Seollal, family members gather in their special clothing for Seollal, seolbim, for performing the ancestral rite, charye. If you are planning anything simultaneously, keep that in mind. Travel Tip: During these three days, most of the restaurants and shops will be closed, especially on the official day of Seollal. There are many different ways in which it is celebrated but what remains constant is family.
#Korean lunar new year clothing how to#
How To Celebrate Seollal?ĭuring Seollal, the whole country celebrates for three days – a day before, the day of, and a day after. Travel Tip: If you do end up making plans to do touristy things during this time, most likely, you won’t find many travel options as all of it is booked by locals. Traveling during the Seollal holidays can be a pain as there’s a mad rush of people rushing back to their hometowns. And, for those who are not in their hometowns, making travel plans also becomes a priority. They start buying gifts for the family, and food preparations begin. There are special articles of clothing to wear for Seollal during the rites, and special foods to be eaten at designated times.In South Korea, people start getting ready for Seollal days ahead. It takes time to prepare for the trip, and the food too takes a lot of preparation time. Many will visit their ancestral home towns to take part in Seollal activities, so this can be a busy time of year for travel. This means talking for hours on end, eating, telling stories all night, and playing folk games. After performing traditional rites to honour the dead, South Koreans spend the rest of the day with the living. The emphasis of Seollal is paying your respects to your ancestors and spending time with living family members. And the wonderful thing about Lunar New Year is that it lasts for three days, not just one! Seollal is based on the lunar calendar and so varies from year to year on the Gregorian Calendar.
