Celebrating the Year of the Sheep

A herd of sheep, next to two horses, graze grass at Daegwallyeong Sheep Farm in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province.
/ Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

By Kwon Mee-yoo

The Year of the Blue Sheep has just arrived as the Year of the Horse fades away. The sheep symbolizes peace, harmony and tranquility in Korean society as they have a docile temperament and live in flocks.

The year 2014 was tainted by a series of accidents from the Sewol ferry disaster to the "nut rage" incident provoked by a chaebol "princess," and many people hope for a more amicable year, as represented by the sheep.

The National Folk Museum (NFM) is presenting a comprehensive exhibit about the animal of 2015 entitled "A Sheep Bringing Happiness."

A stone sheep statue dating back to the 1900s. The sheep statue was installed at scared places such as tomb or temple to pray for fortune and prevent evil spirit.

The year 2015 is the Year of the Sheep based on the 12-year Chinese Zodiac Cycle. In the 60-year counting system combining the 10 celestial stems and the 12 earthly branches, the year 2015 is the Year of Blue Sheep. The color blue comes from its "Wood" stem.

While the Year of the Horse, 2014, was more dynamic and tumultuous, the Year of the Blue Sheep is expected to be more contemplative, influenced by the sheep's generosity and peace-keeping nature.

A sheep-shaped celadon excavated from Beopcheon-ri Tomb in Wonju, Gangwon Province. The celadon dates back to Baekje Kingdom (18 BC-668 AD).

Sheep in history

The sheep is the eighth animal in the Chinese zodiac and protects designated times and directions. A sundial from the Goryeo Kingdom (918-1392) with the 12 patrons of time and direction engraved on it is on display at the NFM's sheep exhibition. The shadow falls on the sheep from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. the "mi" time presented by the wooly animal, which also represents the south-southwest in terms of direction.

There are not many relics related to sheep left in Korea, compared to the other 11 animals in the Chinese Zodiac, because sheep were less important livestock in the farming culture and goats were more widely known in Korea. The term sheep usually referred to long-tailed "gorals" or goats before wool sheep spread in Korea.

Nonetheless, the sheep was considered as a good auspice and appeared as a sign of good luck. So a sheep's head appears in "Jeongmi-gi," or the royal guardian flag used during the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910) as a talisman against evils.

"Yangjeong," a type of ritual vessel that held boiled sheep during royal ancestral rites, has three sheep heads propping up the caldron. White sheep also appear in paintings of Taoist hermits, as the animal is a lucky omen.

Sheep as one of the 12 Buddhist Guarians in this 1977 painting.
/ Courtesy of National Folk Museum

People born in the Year of the Sheep

People born in the Year of the Sheep are mild-mannered and against trouble. In addition to being soft and sympathetic, sheep people are also creative and elegant. The cool, serene blue color of the year will inspire the sheep to unleash its creative side.

Among "hallyu," or Korean wave, stars, young K-pop singers born in 1991, who will turn 23 next year, fall into the category of sheep people. Suho and Lay of mega-hit boy band EXO were both born in the Year of the Sheep as well as Key and Minho of SHINee; Lee Sung-yeol and Hoya of Infinite; Seohyun of Girls' Generation; and CL of 2NE1.

Actress Bae Doo-na, who appeared in the Wachowskis' 2012 movie "Cloud Atlas," was born in 1979, another Year of the Sheep. Her new film "Sense8," another collaboration with the Wachowskis, is expected to be released in 2015. Singer/lifestyle blogger Lee Hyo-ri was also born in 1979.

Among the mid-aged sheep people born in 1967, actor Song Kang-ho sticks out. Song starred as the late former President Roh Moo-hyun in the award-winning movie "The Attorney" last year and will return to the big screen as King Yeongjo in the upcoming film "Sado."

Some notable historical figures born in the Year of the Sheep are independence fighter Cho Man-sik (born in 1883), Neo-Confucian scholar Song Si-yeol (1607) and the Joseon Kingdom's third king, Taejong (1367), who established the foundation of the nation.

Outside Korea, tech giants Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were both born in 1955, the Year of the Sheep. Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell were both born in 1847, another sheep year.

With a history going back to ancient China, Cao Cao, the warlord of the Eastern Han dynasty and a central figure of the Three Kingdoms period, was also born in the Year of the Sheep.

Major historical events that happened in the Year of the Sheep include the March 1 Independence Movement in 1919, the Hague Secret Emissary Affair and King Gojong's abdication in 1907, Sinmi Yangyo (Foreign Disturbance in Sinmi Year) in 1871 and the dispatch of the Joseon Tongsinsa to Japan in 1607.

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