By Bernard Rowan
We'll soon be on the three dog days of the Korean summer, known by the words "sambok" or "boknal." They are July 17, July 27 and Aug. 16. Chobok, joongbok, and malbok recall the cycle of Korean agriculture and respect for the seasons.
These days, I read that many find ice cream, swimming, staying in the air-conditioning and other "cool approaches" to their liking. However, my seniors told me that to beat the heat in Korea (and elsewhere), we must pair heat with heat. An alternative idiom is "fight fire with fire." This thinking may strike foreigners as strange, but try it. It doesn't work instantly. I can't say it's worked for me, but I've tried. Beating the heat needs cultivating new habits.
It's important to eat hot soups rich in protein on a hot day. I've written about the problems of stigmatizing "bosintang," or dog soup, and I don't propose to rehash those arguments here.
Those offended by this therapy should try eating "samgyetang," one of my favorite Korean dishes. This chicken soup beats most rivals hands down. I've also read that eel is good to eat on a hot day. Eating protein-rich, hot foods offsets the tendency of the body to shut down and lose its appetite on a hot day.
The body's circulation and breathing suffers less. To keep balance, we must warm the inside to resist or complement the warm outside. Or at least that's how I understood it. For further details, I'd refer us to an Oriental doctor or physiologist who talks about balancing the yin and yang through behavior, including food and diet.
I think taking a sauna is a great way to adjust to the heat. Of course, this may involve cool pools of water, but acclimating the body to heat by enjoying steam and hot water pools also can help us to match heat and heat. Don't stay in the sauna too long! I've done that, and it ruins the health benefits. In fact, it gives me a nose bleed to do so. We need to train our pores to open and close.
We learn to let our skin sweat and cool, using the body's natural thermostat and cooling abilities to adjust to warm and hot weather. With that, drinking a mixture known as "omija-hwachae" (punch made from the five-flavored berry) also is good. I find that plum juice or "maesil" is excellent, especially after a meal rich in protein.
In the southeastern United States, the "dog days of summer" (no pun intended) are for resting in a hammock under a tall, shade tree. We seek a comfortable, cool room or veranda away from the blistering summer heat. The Korean preference is to oppose this tendency. Beating summer's heat means recognizing our vitality and extending it. Summer doesn't mean to stop being busy but to keep moving toward the harvest or completion of urban, advanced tasks and projects. Our air-conditioned world perhaps then is the enemy of good health on this view.
I also recommend wearing light-colored clothing. Many of Korea's traditional clothing and present-day shirts and tops are white or off-white. Light colors reflect away the light; dark colors absorb it. And don't be afraid to don a straw hat or other shade. The ajumma impress me with their variety of useful hats for hot days.
When I lived in Seoul, it was so hot that I showered several times each day. The heat and humidity stayed on me constantly. The sound of the locusts at night sounded like an opera. Then, the rainy season was longer. I can only imagine what it's like to toil in the rice fields, farms, and factories on these hot days.
My runs between urban buildings and more-than-less air-cooled rooms was nothing. These contexts deter adjusting to the heat and standing it. Today's man and woman need to experience more of the dog days to recover and benefit from a simpler way of life.
Korea's dog days call us to balance and to respecting life within nature. It's foolish to view human nature as above the nature on which we depend, like it or not.
Bernard Rowan is associate provost for contract administration and professor of political science at Chicago State University. He is a past fellow of the Korea Foundation and former visiting professor at Hanyang University. Reach him at browan10@yahoo.com
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These days, I read that many find ice cream, swimming, staying in the air-conditioning and other "cool approaches" to their liking. However, my seniors told me that to beat the heat in Korea (and elsewhere), we must pair heat with heat. An alternative idiom is "fight fire with fire." This thinking may strike foreigners as strange, but try it. It doesn't work instantly. I can't say it's worked for me, but I've tried. Beating the heat needs cultivating new habits.
It's important to eat hot soups rich in protein on a hot day. I've written about the problems of stigmatizing "bosintang," or dog soup, and I don't propose to rehash those arguments here.
Those offended by this therapy should try eating "samgyetang," one of my favorite Korean dishes. This chicken soup beats most rivals hands down. I've also read that eel is good to eat on a hot day. Eating protein-rich, hot foods offsets the tendency of the body to shut down and lose its appetite on a hot day.
The body's circulation and breathing suffers less. To keep balance, we must warm the inside to resist or complement the warm outside. Or at least that's how I understood it. For further details, I'd refer us to an Oriental doctor or physiologist who talks about balancing the yin and yang through behavior, including food and diet.
I think taking a sauna is a great way to adjust to the heat. Of course, this may involve cool pools of water, but acclimating the body to heat by enjoying steam and hot water pools also can help us to match heat and heat. Don't stay in the sauna too long! I've done that, and it ruins the health benefits. In fact, it gives me a nose bleed to do so. We need to train our pores to open and close.
We learn to let our skin sweat and cool, using the body's natural thermostat and cooling abilities to adjust to warm and hot weather. With that, drinking a mixture known as "omija-hwachae" (punch made from the five-flavored berry) also is good. I find that plum juice or "maesil" is excellent, especially after a meal rich in protein.
In the southeastern United States, the "dog days of summer" (no pun intended) are for resting in a hammock under a tall, shade tree. We seek a comfortable, cool room or veranda away from the blistering summer heat. The Korean preference is to oppose this tendency. Beating summer's heat means recognizing our vitality and extending it. Summer doesn't mean to stop being busy but to keep moving toward the harvest or completion of urban, advanced tasks and projects. Our air-conditioned world perhaps then is the enemy of good health on this view.
I also recommend wearing light-colored clothing. Many of Korea's traditional clothing and present-day shirts and tops are white or off-white. Light colors reflect away the light; dark colors absorb it. And don't be afraid to don a straw hat or other shade. The ajumma impress me with their variety of useful hats for hot days.
When I lived in Seoul, it was so hot that I showered several times each day. The heat and humidity stayed on me constantly. The sound of the locusts at night sounded like an opera. Then, the rainy season was longer. I can only imagine what it's like to toil in the rice fields, farms, and factories on these hot days.
My runs between urban buildings and more-than-less air-cooled rooms was nothing. These contexts deter adjusting to the heat and standing it. Today's man and woman need to experience more of the dog days to recover and benefit from a simpler way of life.
Korea's dog days call us to balance and to respecting life within nature. It's foolish to view human nature as above the nature on which we depend, like it or not.
Bernard Rowan is associate provost for contract administration and professor of political science at Chicago State University. He is a past fellow of the Korea Foundation and former visiting professor at Hanyang University. Reach him at browan10@yahoo.com
