Traditional Events and Activities on Offer
By Cathy Rose A. Garcia
Staff Reporter
Alone in Seoul for the seollal or Lunar New Year holidays? No worries. Royal palaces and museums around Seoul have lined up exciting traditional seollal-related events that everyone can enjoy during the five-day holiday.
Royal Palaces
Visitors can play traditional Korean folk games at Gyeongbok Palace (Gyeongbokgung Station, Line 5), through Feb. 10. There will be demonstrations on how to play folk games such as yutnori (traditional board game played by throwing four sticks instead of a dice), neolttwigi (seesawing), jegichagi (kicking the shuttlecock), paengichigi (spinning tops) and tuho (arrow throwing).
Unhyeon Palace, (Anguk Station, Line 3, Exit 4), is currently holding an exhibit on charye or the ancestral worship ceremony performed by Korean families during Seollal. Visitors can also enjoy listening to percussion instrumental performances, dress up in the traditional Korean hanbok or try their hand at making jegi or shuttlecock. On Feb. 9-10, an expert will perform the tojeongbigyeol or traditional fortune telling, for all visitors free of charge.
Museums
The National Folk Museum of Korea, located inside Gyeongbok Palace, has a series of traditional Korean folk events lined up for Feb. 6-21. On Feb. 8, there is a pungmul (folk musical instruments) performance; and a mujanyeon (Year of the Rat) welcoming event Feb. 9. There is a traditional military arts performance on Feb. 10. All events are held at the museum's auditorium.
There is also an on-going exhibit of large kites featuring the different zodiac signs through Feb. 8 at the museum. Adults and children can also take part in handicraft programs such as making a New Year's wish kite, drawing a sehwa or miniature, making Korean paper handicrafts and creating a dancheong necklace. Fees for the handicraft programs range from 4,000 won to 5,000 won. Visit www.nfm.go.kr.
At the National Museum of Korea located in Yongsan, there will be performances by the Noreummachi, a traditional folk performance group and gayageum ensemble Aura. Korean and animation films will be shown at the museum. Visitors can also learn the basics of calligraphy in a special program through Feb. 10. Visit www.museum.go.kr.
The Seoul Museum of History will be open to the public on Feb. 7. There will also be a traditional mask dance performance at 3 p.m. Visit www.museum.seoul.kr.
Traditional Events
The Namsangol Hanok Village, located near Chungmuro Station (Subway Line 4 or 3, exit 3), will have a series of events to welcome the Year of the Rat. There will be a performance of pansori and minyo, as well as tricks from the Dong Choon circus.
Visitors can make wish kites, write family precepts in calligraphy, participate in ``ddeokme chigi" (strike the rice-cake mallet) and sample roasted sweet potatoes and mageolli or Korean traditional rice wine. A lecture will be held on the how to prepare the charye and charye etiquette. Visit www.hanokmaeul.org.
The Korean Folk Village in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province is holding a ``Seollal Welcoming Folk Hanmadang" Feb. 6-10. There is a New Year Wishing Event, where people can make a wish for themselves and their families; and a Folk Experience Event, where people can enjoy traditional Korean games.
Visitors can also learn how to make charms to drive away bad luck and attract good fortune this year. Other activities include fortune telling by a tojeongbigyeol expert, making rice cakes, roasting sweet potatoes, and making kites and shuttlecocks for the games.
There are also various performances of peasants' instrumental music, seesawing, tightrope dancing, horseback military arts, traditional wedding ceremony and turtle play. Visit www.koreanfolk.co.kr.
The National Center for Korean Traditional Performing Arts, located in southern Seoul, will have a Lunar New Year's Day concert at 5 p.m. on Feb. 7, ``to celebrate the New Year with music of heaven, earth and mankind." Tickets are 8,000 won and 10,000 won. Visit www.ncktpa.go.kr or call (02) 580-3394.
The Korea Tourism Organization's (KTO) Tourism Information Center, located in front of the Cheonggye stream, downtown Seoul, will open its doors to tourists during the seollal holidays. Tourists can wear the traditional Korean hanbok and take photos, free of charge. Bokjumeoni or good luck pouches will be given to tourists who visit the center. From Exit 5 Jonggak Station (Line 1), the center is located at the lower level of the KTO building across from Youngpoong Bookstore. Call (02) 729-9497.