24 Solar Terms

Traditionally, Korea has had 24 "jeolgi" seasons, like many East Asian countries. These 24 seasons were based on the lunar calendar. While the west used the solar calendar which is based on the earth's rotation around the sun and a solar year division of 4, the east used the lunar calendar based on the phases of the moon and from moon phases calculated the seasons and dates within them. [This system took into account that some years actually had 13 months and could still effectively plan agricultural and fishing success!] With this kind of calculation, time was divided into segments of four based on the vernal and autumnal equinoxes and the summer and winter solstices. And exactly between these four were the beginning of spring, summer, fall and winter, and between those divisions were the waxing and the waning periods ... totalling 24 seasons.

Sounds complicated, but the "seasons" were efficiently and scientifically calculated to harmonize the predominantly agricultural and fishing society with the subtle climactic changes in the year -- for example, frosts, cold snaps, the warm spring rains, the periods of extreme heat. Following the 24 seasons insured success in both the planting and harvesting and in maritime work.

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Every semester I get truly insightful presentations from my Public Speaking students. While Korea has a history of using the 24 seasons, instead of the typical 4 used by westerners, in the present day and age with a radical drop in agriculture and fishing, the 24-season concept is no longer needed and so for several decades has not been taught. To my huge delight, two Chinese and one Mexican students explored Chinese seasonality for their culture-related presentation. This cyclical clock apparently developed in China but of course was also used in Korea. Thank you Michelle, Xiaohui and Jiayin for providing me with information I've heard about but struggle to find in present-day literature!

This PPT largely represented Chinese culture. While Korea also used a 24-season calendar and there were some cultural foods shared between cultures, e.g. moon cakes / rice cakes on harvest moon day, the majority of seasonal foods are unique to their own specific cultures. For more on Korean "cheolgi" food, GastroTourSeoul gives a "taste" of specific foods and how that food fits on the cheolgi cycle.

Korean Temple Food Culture Experience Center

Near Anguk Station (line 3) is the Korean Temple Food Culture Experience Center. On weekends special cooking classes are offered, but for those who don't have time to sign up or are unfortunate in signing up too late for the limited 20-person participation per event, then just popping into the center to see the spectacular food display is educational in itself!

The food is displayed by seasonal foods and festive event foods. However, it's important to say that Korean Buddhist food is (1) based on the whole and nature food concepts valued in current society (making it very popular), (2) it's based on vegetarianism and the concept of living in harmony with the animal world and not having a hierarchical food chain, and (3) it has limitations on five foods (onions, garlic, chives, green onions and leeks) that excite the senses and affect those in the early stages of cultivation.

Natural food ingredients:

• Soy sauce, soybean paste, red pepper paste, and salt are often used to create the salty taste of temple food. 
• Honey, brown sugar, white sugar, and starch syrup are used for sweetness. 
• Spicy flavors are provided by ginger, red pepper powder, red peppers, green peppers, piperitum leaves or powders, and occasionally black pepper and mustard. 
• Some of the condiments used include: vinegar for the sour taste; sesame seeds, perilla seeds, sesame oil, perilla oil, and soybean oil for savoriness. 
• Kelp, shitake mushrooms, dried Cedrela sinensis branches, and white radish are flavor enhancers. 
• Chinese pepper, bang-a (Korean mint), and perilla seeds improve and balance flavors.

Three Merits and Six Tastes:

Traditionally temple food should have three merits and six tastes. The three merits are: purity (referring to cleanliness and freshness of ingredients), flexibility (from the tenderness of food); compliment tastes of all ingredients used.

The six tastes are: saltiness, sourness, sweetness, bitterness, spiciness, and astringency, all of which must be in harmony.

However, the tastes and aromas of temple food are unavoidably limited, as the usage of meat and the five pungent vegetables (onion and onion family) are prohibited. Buddhist monks and nuns have overcome this challenge by developing a variety of natural seasonings and spices. These natural seasonings and recipes created in each temple, and passed down orally, have resulted in the establishment of a unique culinary tradition.

NEW YEAR'S EVE:
braised shitake mushroom with white radish
yaksik
seasoned white radish
kimchi dumplings
japchae

On New Year's Eve, all-night prayer and practice, courageous waking meditative practice, or a Dharma assembly marking the New Year are commonly held at Buddhist temples --- though events vary by temple. On this special day, yaksik (literally "medicinal food") or sweet rice with nuts and jujubes, dumplings, assorted side dishes made of white radish, and japchae (stir-fried glass noodles and vegetables) are enjoyed.

SEOLAL (LUNAR NEW YEAR'S DAY):
Monastics at mountain hermitages prepare and exchange offerings to each other. Dumplings, rice cakes, and gangjeong (deep-fried rice puff) are commonly shared. Samja (deep-fried sweet rice cookies) and gangjeong are made by frying glutinous rice dough in boiling oil

SPRING:
deep-fried assorted mushrooms with sweet and spice sauce
stir-fried noodles and spring vegetables
temple-style vegetarian dumplings
cherry tomatoes pickled in Korean raspberry marmalade
gardenia fruit rice
shepherd's purse soybean paste stew

SPRING:
stir-fried glass noodles and bamboo shoots
seasoned Kalopanax sprouts
fried dried ???
braised banga (Korean mint) leaves
Fischers ragwort Kimchi
mugwort rice
shepherd's purse and bean sprout soup

BUDDHA'S BIRTHDAY:
water parsley ganghoe
glutinous rice cakes
parched beans
shredded white radish
water parsley bibimbap
spinach soybean paste soup

On Buddha's birthday, songpyeon (half-moon rice cakes), black beans, water parsley, and seasoned vegetables were often prepared to welcome temple visitors, as the eighth day of the fourth lunar month was a widely celebrated folk holiday even outside of Buddhist communities. Bibimbap, water parsley ganghoe, and roasted beans are also offered to visitors at Buddhist temples on Buddha's birthday.

SUMMER: 
Fresh ginseng and vegetables rolled with sliced zucchini
stir-fried sliced potatoes with perilla seeds
stuffed summer squash
sichuan pepper leaf and young summer radish kimchi
steamed butterbur with perilla seeds
green tea leaf rice
soybean paste sauce

SUMMER:
stir-fried dried acorn jelly
potato porridge
chilled ginger and eggplant salad
seasoned Korean melon
pickled radish
seasoned thistle with rice
butterbur perilla seed soup

SAMBOK (the hottest period of summer):
watermelon dipped in soybean paste
lettuce kimchi
zucchini pancakes
lotus flower tea
piperitum jangajji
noodles in cold soybean and pine nut soup

Temple monastics endure hot weather by eating cold noodles in thick soybean soup, which not only helps beat the heat, but also provides sufficient water and nutrition. Possible stomachaches arising from watermelon, another temple thirst-quencher, are avoided by slightly dipping the watermelon in soybean paste.

AUTUMN:
deep-fried ginseng
deep-fried mushroom with sweet and spicy sauce
steamed burdock
oyster mushroom and radish salad
perilla leaf chili paste pancakes
rice
mushroom and sichuan pepper leaf soup with perilla seeds

AUTUMN:
grilled burdock
lotus root and green laver pancakes
mushroom and radish dumplings
diced radish kimchi
salted seaweed
deodeok rice
taro soup

CHUSEOK (KOREAN THANKSGIVING):
three-colored songpyeon
three-color dasik (tea cookies)
sweet rice punch

Oryeo sonpyeon (half-moon rice cakes made of early-ripening rice), sweet rice punch made of newly harvested rice, and newly harvested fruits are used in Chuseok ancestral rites. At Buddhist temples, rice cakes, fruit, cinnamon punch, sweet rice punch, and tea (like the 6 offerings to the Buddha) are offered to the Buddhist altar for prayers. Mungbean pancakes and songpyeon are especially significant offerings during the Harvest Moon Festival.

WINTER:
deep-fried lotus root stuffed with tofu
whole pear stuffed with white kimchi
jujube and tofu dumplings
seasoned dried persimmon
watery seaweed salad
gulfweed and hijikia rice
dried zucchini stew

WINTER:
stir-fried mushroom and assorted vegetables with soybean paste
deep-fried neungi mushroom with sweet and spicy sauce
braised dried radish greens with soybean paste
seasoned walnut and sinchuan pepper leaf with spicy sauce
pickled radish fermented with gardenia fruit
steamed sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaves
pine mushroom soup

Foods developed by various temples:

Baekyang Temple:
Cedrela pancakes
steamed tofu topped with water parsley
sedum water kimchi
stir-fried lotus root and walnuts
seasoned dried radish
shitake mushroom and tofu rice
battered aralia sprouts and bean soup

Yeongseon Temple:
stir-fried noodles and chili pepper
seasoned sliced potato
grilled perilla leaves
pickled radish
sauteed beans seasoned with sauce
rye rice
butterbur stem soybean paste stew

Unmun Temple:
seasoned radish leaves
deep-fried shepherd's purse
mugwort pancakes
seasoned day lily
seasoned whiteman's foot
peanut glutinous rice
mugwort soup

Koun Temple:
seasoned buckwheat
radish leaves seasoned with rich soybean paste
braised burdock leaves
acorn jelly
braised peanuts
rice with assorted nutritious ingredients
taro soup

Jinkweon Temple:
grilled deodeok seasoned with soy sauce
kimchi
braised tofu
pickled cedrela
prickly ash pepper soy sauce
millet rice
neungi mushroom soup

Baekheung Hermitage:
braised tofu and chestnuts
kimchi with chili pepper seeds
grilled burdock coated with sticky rice porridge
kohlrabi salad
pickled ogapi
radish rice
Chinese cabbage and bean powder soup

OTHER FOOD CULTURES:

Mugwort Gathering Day:
mandarin oranges
gimbap (seasoned rice rolls)

When traveling to nearby mountains for gathering mugwort, gimbap (seasoned rice rolls), mandarin oranges, and cucumbers (all regularly found in temple kitchens) are packed.

TONSURE DAY FOOD:
laver
tofu pancakes
cooked glutinous rice
seaweed soup

Buddhist monks and nuns take the tonsure twice each month of the lunar calendar -- on the 14th day and the second to last day of the month. They regain energy lost due to tonsure by eating cooked glutinous rice, laver, tofu pancakes, and seaweed soup.

A monk's breakfast table:
steamed tofu roots
pine nut porridge
steamed sweet potatoes

simple meals, such as porridge or steamed vegetables, are often served on a monastic's breakfast table, as a heavy breakfast could hinder spiritual studies.

Raw food:
Eminent Buddhist monks traditionally ate a variety of raw foods when engaged in intensive meditation or during waking meditative practice. Non-glutinous rice and glutinous rice are soaked in water a day prior to serving so that they may be easily chewed. Iron is received from pine needle powder, heat from honey and jujubes, energy from Chinese matrimony vines, protein from black beans, and carbohydrates and fiber from chestnuts ... thus all essential nutrients are provided.

Good foods for fighting colds:
bonnet bellflower root jangajji
white radish jangajji
stir-fried radish greens
kimchi and bean sprouts porridge
neungi mushroom soup

Neungi mushroom soup, and kimchi and bean sprout porridge are good for preventing or fighting colds as they help raise body temperature.

Hangeul Day, 2018 - Calligraphy at City Hall

History of Hangeul Day (Wikipedia)

According to the Sejong Sillok, King Sejong proclaimed publication of Hunmin Jeongeum, the document introducing the newly created alphabet which was also originally called by the same name in 1446. In 1926, the Korean Language Society, whose goal was to preserve the Korean language during a time of rapid forced Japanization, celebrated the octo-sexagesimal (480th) anniversary of the declaration of hangeul on the last day of the ninth month of the lunar calendar, which is on November 4 of the Gregorian calendar. Members of the Society declared it the first observance of "Gagyanal" (가갸날). The name came from "Gagyageul" (가갸글), an early colloquial name for hangeul, based on a mnemonic recitation beginning "gagya geogyeo" (가갸거겨). The name of the commemorative day was changed to "Hangullal" in 1928, soon after the term "hangul", coined originally in 1913 by Ju Si-gyeong, became widely accepted as the new name for the alphabet, and celebrated according to the lunar calendar.  

In 1931, the celebration of the day was switched to October 29 of the Gregorian Calendar, the calendar which is in contemporary use. Three years later, the date was moved to October 28, to coordinate the date with that of the Julian Calendar, which had been in use during the 15th century, when King Sejong had made his proclamation. 

The discovery in 1940 of an original copy of the Hunmin Jeongeum Haerye, revealed that the Hunmin Jeongeum was announced during the first ten days of the ninth month. The tenth day of the ninth month of the 1446 lunar calendar was equivalent to October 9 of that same year's Julian calendar. The South Korean government, established in 1945, declared October 9 to be Hangeul Day, a yearly legal holiday which excused government employees from work. 

Major employers pressured the South Korean government to increase the country's annual number of work days. In 1991, to balance out the adoption of the United Nations Day, it vacated Hangeul Day's status as a holiday. By law, Hangeul Day remained a national commemoration day, and the Hangeul Society campaigned for the holiday's restoration. On November 1, 2012, the Society won that campaign, when the National Assembly voted 189 to 4 (with 4 abstaining) in favor of a resolution that called for the return of Hangeul Day as a national holiday. This put pressure on the Lee Myung Bak administration, which applied the change in 2013.

But in reality, this is a bit of a "free" day for Koreans, meaning there are no social or family obligations entwined at all with this day. This holiday has no specific food traditions, no ceremonial traditions, and no duties or functions to perform or even think about. So people can just enjoy a whole day without communal obligations or need to gather over specifically prepared foods. They are totally free to plan their hours without any social constraints. and so I was really pleased to see a large gathering at City Hall where people could indulge in street food and experience Hangeul Day themed art. 

An extensive line-up of display boards lined the Cheongyecheon and the boards were loaded with Hangeul Day postcards, many done in watercolors and calligraphy inks. I'm under the impression that middle and high school students made a large contribution to this display, but the public was certainly encouraged to make their own Hangeul Day postcard at booths on both sides of the display. Wherever this huge display of handmade postcards came from, I have to say that the art level of some of the postcards was quite stunning!