There are two most important holidays in Korea. Seollal and Chuseok. Seollal(설날) is the New Year’s Day and Chuseok(추석) .
Although Chuseok is usually considered as the biggest holiday, Seollal is second to none in its importance: In both holidays, many people visit their parents, despite the distance. In Seollal, people have ‘get-together’ in a quite big family units. They meet many relatives, uncles, aunts, cousins and so on: exchange gifts, talk together, play games…
A week before Seollal may be the start of people getting busy buying foods, presents, and other necessary things needed in celebrating the new start of the Lunar year. This is when all stores, markets and other shops start to get busy.
"설날 선물 세트" = Seollal Set of Gift
Shop assistants are wearing Hanbok. Unique huh!
The most significant point in Korea’s holidays like Seollal or Chuseok is that, you can see present sets. Usually fruits, tolietries(shampoo set, toothbrush, toothpaste, lotion, soup…)…the kinds vary.
For people who are staying in Seoul, or who do not go far away from their homes, do not worry. All public transportations are available all the time, so you can go to many areas around: Since Seoul will be ‘emptier’ than before, no need to worry for traffic jams within here.
But expect traffic jam before Seollal, as many people will be going back to meet their family.. : )On the very day of Seollal, family will prepare for ancestral rites early in the morning. They cook and prepare traditional dishes for the ritual. They open the door and windows so that the spirits of the ancestors passed away to come inside the house. (It’s considered as the ‘comity’ toward the ancestors.)Traditionally only men, or male head of the family are allowed bowing to the ancestors. But the way of practicing the rites may differ by regions; each has their own custom. In Korean, we call this ancestral rites as ‘Charye(차례)’.
the memorial service ‘table’ 
After the ritual, the whole family gather around and eat breakfast. One of the dishes they eat DDeokguk(떡국),a Korean word meaning rice cake soup. Koreans have an interesting old saying(could be a joke), that ‘You grow a year older if you eat a bowl of rice cake soup.’
So many people ‘competed’…with one another to eat more DDeokguk.
After eating DDeokguk, young children(but typically anyone who is not yet an adult ;) bow to the elders, a greeting for the New Year. This is called as Sebae(세배). Children, sometimes dressed in Hanbok(Korea’s traditional attire) say out loud this saying: “새해 복 많이 받으세요,” which means “I wish you a happy new year” in Korean.
After the bow, the elders give their young relatives some money- and this is the main reason why the adults want to avoid the moment, and the children become wild at the moment. Young kids tend to ‘carefully’ put their money in this kind of pouch.
In the evening, relatives gathered around and did Yut-no-re(윷놀이)
adults bet some money on other game called ‘hwatu(gostop),’
although this was originatd from Japan, itself became one of the highlights games in Seollal, and it can never be absent among Koreans culture..if you've seen lots of korean drama, i bet you are familiar with this.. tho I dont know how to play it :)
Happy Seollal 여러분!! ^^
According to legend, a fox that lives a thousand years turns into a gumiho, a shape-shifter who can appear in the guise of a woman. A gumiho is evil by nature, and feeds on either human hearts or livers (different legends specify one or the other) in order to survive. The Chinese huli jing is said to be made up of feminine energy (yin) and needs to consume male energy (yang) to survive. The Japanese kitsune can be either male or female, and can choose to be quite benevolent.
The Korean gumiho is traditionally female. Some can hide their gumiho features, while other myths indicate that they can’t fully transform (ie. a fox-like face or set of ears, or the tell-tale nine tails). Either way there is usually at least one physical trait that will prove their true gumiho form, or a magical way to force them to reveal this form.
Much like werewolves or vampires in Western lore, there are always variations on the myth depending on the liberties that each story takes with the legend. Some tales say that if a gumiho abstains from killing and eating humans for a thousand days, it can become human. Others, like the drama Gumiho: Tale of the Fox’s Child, say that a gumiho can become human if the man who sees her true nature keeps it a secret for ten years. Regardless of each story’s own rules, a few things are always consistent: a gumiho is always a fox, a woman, a shape-shifter, and a carnivore.
Now on to the cultural meanings. A fox is a common figure in many different cultures that represents a trickster or a smart but wicked creature that steals or outwits others into getting what it wants. Anyone who grew up on Aesop’s Fables knows the classic iteration of the fox figure in folklore. And it’s not hard to see how the fox got such a bad rap. The animal is a nocturnal hunter and a thief by nature, and is known the world over for its cunning mind.
In Korea, the fox has a second cultural implication—that of sexual cunning. The word for fox, yeo-woo [여우] is actually what Koreans call a woman who is, for lack of a better translation, a vixen, a siren, or a sly man-eater. There is a similar English equivalent in the phrase “you sly fox,” although in Korean it’s gender-specific (only women get called yeo-woo), and has a much more predatory “there-you-go-using-your-feminine-wiles-to-trick-me” kind of meaning behind it. Women who use any sort of feminine charm in an overt way, or women who are overtly sexualized (as in, asserting and brandishing their sexuality in a bold way), get called “yeo-woo.” Interestingly, the word for “actress” [여배우] is the same in its shortened form: [여우].
It is not by mistake that gumihos are only beautiful women. They are a folkloric way to warn men of the pitfalls of letting a woman trick you or seduce you into folly. For an example, see this translation of a classic gumiho tale. In many stories the hero of the tale (always a man) has to “endure” the seduction and unclothe the gumiho, thereby revealing her true form. Thus a woman’s true nature, her hidden sexuality = demon.
The concept of female sexuality as dangerous is nothing new to folklore, for sure. But it’s not a stretch to say that both the gumiho figure and the use of “yeo-woo” are quite prevalent in modern culture and its fiction. Most people may gloss over the fact that the gumiho myth is a story designed to uphold patriarchy. But that’s what makes such a legend so cunning in its own right.
In film and tv, the gumiho can be both a horrific figure and a straight-up demon, or a comically laughable one, depending on the genre. And throughout the ages the gumiho legend has changed, as in Gumiho: Tale of the Fox’s Child ‘s take on the tortured gumiho with a kind soul who longs to be human and spares men’s lives. She is a reluctant demon who chooses to walk the fine line of morality in order to hold onto her human traits. This interpretation is much closer to the vampire-with-a-soul mythology, as one being battles the demon within.
But one interesting thing to note in that drama is that the child, once she comes of age, transforms into a gumiho herself and struggles with that overpowering demonic force. One can’t help but draw parallels to a young girl’s own coming of age and sexual development, and how this myth only serves to further demonize a woman’s sexuality as something uncontrollable and evil that befalls even the most innocent of young girls. In this, and other more overtly sexualized depictions, the gumiho serves to downgrade female sexuality as demonic and directly carnivorous of men. All this isn’t to say that female writers couldn’t take ownership of such a legend and reclaim it. I think that’s the only way to take it out of this territory and blast all these old versions away with something empowered. Do I think that’s what the Hong sisters’ goal is? Not outright. And I’m definitely not going to be watching that rom-com for its stellar commentary on gender politics.
Source : http://www.dramabeans.com
I find it weird that on valentines day in korea, only the girls give chocolate to guys... isnt is suppose to be the other way around? I told my self..haha but then again I thought well, different is good.. different is interesting!.. so that made me curious to learn more about how and why is it the way it is in korea...I found that...All of these are related!
So, okay... wait, wait, wait a minute... 잠깐만 [jamkkanman] {wait a minute}... what is White Day and Black day??..haha I'll explain just keep reading...
On Valentines Day, girls will give chocolates and other gifts to the guys. It is similar to our Valentines Day but is more one-sided.
So, what should be done? White Day was created. On White Day, one month later on March 14th, guys will give more expensive chocolates and gifts to the girls. These chocolates come in white boxes. This way it isn't so one-sided!
But what about the people who feel left out on those days because they have nobody to give chocolates to? That is what Black Day is for! On Black Day, another month later on April 14th, people who have nobody all get together with their friends and eat JaJang Noodles, which are black in color. It is not as popular as Valentines Day and White Day, but it is still celebrated by some people!
On the 14th of every month of a year there's bound to be a celebration that's related to love in some way. To further explain my statement, below are the celebrations that take place on the 14th of each month:
Family outing celebrate Chuseok...
Chuseok is on the following days:
Chuseok, as well as the day before it and afterwards, are legal holidays in South Korea.
In modern South Korea, on Chuseok there is a mass exodus of Koreans returning to their hometowns to pay respects to the spirits of one's ancestors. People perform ancestral worship rituals early in the morning. They often visit the tombs of their immediate ancestors to trim plants and clean the area around the tomb, and offer food, drink, and crops to their ancestors. Harvest crops are attributed to the blessing of ancestors.
One of the major foods prepared and eaten during the Chuseok holiday is songpyeon (송편), a crescent-shaped rice cake which is steamed upon pine needles. Other dishes commonly prepared are japchae, bulgogi and fruits.
소녀시대 making 송편 during Hello Baby filming..A variety of folk games are played on Chuseok to celebrate the coming of Autumn and rich harvest. Village folk dress themselves to look like a cow or a turtle, and go from house to house along with a Nongak band playing music. Other common folk games played on Chuseok are tug of war, ssireum, archery and gama fighting. Folk games also vary from region to region. Ganggangsullae dance which is forming a circle under a moon is performed by women and children in southwestern coastal regions, and cockfight or bullfighting in the southern regions.
