Seollal filled with events for families

Performance group Yeonhuidan Palsandae performs “nong-ak” (traditional Korean music performed by farmers) at the National Museum of Korea in central Seoul during the Seollal holiday. / Courtesy of National Museum of Korea

By Baek Byung-yeul

As more than 36 million Koreans are expected to hit the road for the annual exodus to their hometowns during the Lunar New Year holiday this Feb. 8, there will be a variety of cultural events for foreign residents and families to enjoy during one of Korea’s two biggest holidays.

During the five-day long weekend, temperatures are expected to drop slightly making it a great time to visit popular tourist destinations such as palaces, museums, amusement parks and galleries.

Palaces, royal tombs

During the holiday, palaces and royal tombs will be open for extended hours.

The Cultural Heritage Administration announced that historic venues such as four of central Seoul’s major palaces _ Gyeongbok Palace, Changdeok Palace, Changgyeong Palace and Deoksu Palace _ royal tombs of the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910) and Hyeonchungsa Shrine for Admiral Yi Sun-shin in Asan, South Chungcheong Province will be open over the holidays and will not charge admission fees on Lunar New Year’s Day, Monday.

Visitors enjoy Korean folk games during the Seollal holiday. / Courtesy of National Gugak Center

Also, Jongmyo, the Confucian royal shrine which normally accepts visitors on a reservation-only basis, will be open to everyone during the holidays.

Along with the extended hours, those major venues will feature abundant events as well.

At Gyeongbok Palace, visitors are allowed to stoke up a fire in a furnace and have a chance to practice New Year’s bows to each other in a room heated by ondol, a traditional floor-heating system. Folk games such as yunnori (a Korean dice game with four wooden sticks) will also be featured at Deoksu Palace and Yeongneung, the royal tomb of King Sejong in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province.

The National Folk Museum of Korea, located inside Gyeongbok Palace grounds, will offer a class for children on how to wear hanbok (traditional Korean clothing), how to perform the ancestral worship ritual on the morning of Seollal and how to perform sebae, a formal greeting custom for special occasions.

Visitors to the Natioanl Gugak Center in Seoul enjoy “yutnori” (a game with four wooden sticks) during the Seollal holiday. / Courtesy of National Gugak Center

Fortune party at Korean Folk Village

Special holiday events are awaiting visitors at the Korean Folk Village in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province.

The folk village was established in 1974 in a bid to preserve traditional Korean life and culture and to introduce it to modern-day Koreans as well as foreign visitors. The popular tourist destination, located next to Everland Amusement Park, is equipped with a replica traditional village showing the different social classes.

For this year’s Seollal holiday, the New Year’s Fortune Party will take place until Feb. 10, featuring the “burning daljip” event, the “jisinbalgi” (welcoming the god of the earth) event and sharing rice cakes.

At the Buyeo National Museum in South Chungcheong Province, visitors try their hands at traditional musical instruments during the Seollal holiday. / Courtesy of Buyeo National Museum

The burning daljip event will be the highlight of the New Year’s Day events. During the ritual to fend off bad luck and wish for good luck for coming year, participants jot down their wishes on a piece of paper and fasten it to a large pile of straw and pine branches called daljip (moon house). At the end, fire will be set to the daljip in the hopes of bringing in a lucky year with the brightening flame.

Jisinbalgi is a ground-stepping ritual to offer a sacrifice to the spirit of the house in a wish for good luck. After the ground-stepping ritual, visitors are provided rice cakes to share the good fortune with everyone.

At the folk lottery room, visitors can purchase raffle tickets for 1,000 won each and win various gifts. All the profits from the tickets will be donated to the Community Chest of Korea. There will also be fortune-telling events and palm-reading.

People born in the Year of the Monkey (2004, 1992, 1980, 1968, 1956, 1944 and 1932) can get a 50% discount on ticket price. Visitors wearing hanbok will also get a 50 percent discount. For more information, visit www.koreanfolk.co.kr or call (031)288-0000.

Events at national museums

Twelve national museums around the country will be open during Seollal holiday, offering a variety of programs including traditional performances, folk games and film screenings.

The National Museum of Korea in central Seoul will bring the all-female Yeonhuidan Palsandae on Feb. 8. for a performance of nongak, a traditional agrarian genre of music and dance. The band has been well received since 2012 when they were invited to the Yeosu Expo and the Totally Thames Festival.

The Gyeongju National Museum in North Gyeongsang Province will offer free screenings of popular animated films for children, such as “Doraemon,” “Robot Taekwon V” and “Pororo the Little Penguin” two times a day at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. during the holidays. Mimes and jugglers will perform on Feb. 9 along with Korean folk games held at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.

Visitors to the Buyeo National Museum in South Chungcheong Province have a chance to handcraft tools for folk games. A class in making bows on Feb. 7, making kites on Feb. 8, and making “sotdae” (a tall pole with a carved bird on top) on Feb. 9 will be held during the holiday.

The Gimhae National Museum offers to read visitors’ futures with “yut” (Korean dice) for fun. Meanwhile folk performances ― only performed in the Gongju area, seat of power of the ancient Baekje Kingdom ― will be featured at the Gongju National Museum in South Chungcheong Province.

Traditional music at Gugak Center

On the occasion of the long weekend, the National Gugak Center in southern Seoul will offer folk games and traditional performances.

On Feb. 8, artists of the gugak (Korean music) center will stage traditional street performances. Visitors also can participate in folk games such as “tuho” (a pitch-pot game in which players try to cast spears through the mouth of a narrow-necked jar) or “jegichagi” (Korean hacky sack played with a feathered object resembling a shuttlecock).

Visitors coming to the center with three generations of their family, those who were born in the Year of the Monkey or those wearing “hanbok” can get a free ticket for the musical “Leafie, a Hen into the Wild” during the holidays.

For more information, visit www.gugak.go.kr or call 02)3272-6652.