The First Day of the Full Moon in the Lunar Calendar
201203187
Soyun Jeong
Because the Koreans used lunar calendar in the past, Korean culture is closely related to moon. A lot of Korean traditional festivals are held on the day of full moon, and Jeong-wol-dae-bo-reum is one of them. Jeong-wol-dae-bo-reum, the first full moon day of the year in the lunar calendar, is very exciting day because people do a lot of special activities. Today, not many people celebrate Jeong-wol-dae-bo-reum, but some families still remember the tradition. Also, in some places they held special events on the day of Jeong-wol-dae-bo-reum, so young people can learn about it. People have to go through a lot of process to have a great Jeong-wol-dae-bo-reum day.
Before the celebration, people get very busy because they have to cook special meal for Jeong-wol-dae-bo-reum, and create decorations. Koreans cook o-gok-bab, rice and other four different types of grains cooked together. They also prepare different kinds of na-mul-mu-chim, which are stir-fried dried herbs. The Koreans eat these foods on the day before Jeong-wol-dae-bo-reum. Other people make dal-jib, a big structure built with wood and straw. Dal-jib in Korean means the house of moon. They also make bok-jo-ri to decorate their homes. Bok means luck, and jo-ri is a tool that looks like a big ladle made of straw. People believed that if they hang bok-jo-ri on the front door, they can invite luck into the house.
In the morning and afternoon of Jeong-wol-dae-bo-reum, people do many activities that have significant meanings. First, they eat bu-rum in the early morning. Bu-rum indicates various kinds of nuts people eat on the Jeong-wol-dae-bo-reum. In the past, the Koreans believed that eating nuts will prevent them from having boils on their skin, and bring them luck. Next, people drink alcohol during the breakfast, believing that they can have more sharp ears by drinking alcohol on Jeong-wol-dae-bo-reum. They even allow children to drink alcohol just for that day. However, not many people follow this tradition of drinking alcohol these days. After the breakfast, Koreans "sell" their "heat" to each other in Jeong-wol-dae-bo-reum. If someone calls the other person's name, and he or she answers, the person who called says, "Buy my heat." In that case, they believe, people who "sold" the heat gets less chance to have heat exhaustion in the summer, and people who 'bought' the heat gets more.
The Koreans also do lots of activities at the night of Jeong-wol-dae-bo-reum, and they are more special because it is not done by each individuals or families, but by all members of the village together. First, people divided themselves into two parties and play go-tsa-um together. Each team has a thick and long rope with huge loop at the end. Together, both teams attack the loop of the other team to press it down. If the loop of one team presses down the other loop completely, that team wins. After go-tsa-um, they link the ropes used in go-tsa-um together and play tug and war. Next, people gather around the dal-jib and fire it. While the dal-jib burns, they walk around dal-jib, praying their wishes to the moon.
There are so many other activities of Jeong-wol-dae-bo-reum that I have not mentioned, because there are just too many of them, and they differ from region to region. All of these activities had been very important aspect of Korean life for more than thousand years, which bring the whole community together, make them enjoy themselves, and let them wish good luck for the new year. However, it is very sad that lots of Koreans don't know much about this wonderful tradition. Therefore, Koreans should try hard to teach young people about Jeong-wol-dae-bo-reum, and make sure they keep this tradition just like their ancestors did.
To Soyeon Jung From An Yumi
ReplyDelete1. What I like about this piece of writing is that you introduce completely well about Jeong wol dae bo reum. I really like that I can see that you did not take any advantages of the fact that your prospective readers are Korean. In that you did not let any part of your writing not fully explained so that any readers from any country can understand what is everything going on here.
2. Your main point seems to be that we should preserve Jeong wol dae bo reum as one of the most valuable traditions in korea.
3. These particular words or lines struck me as powerful:
After the breakfast, Koreans "sell" their "heat" to each other in Jeong-wol-dae-bo-reum. If someone calls the other person's name, and he or she answers, the person who called says, "Buy my heat." In that case, they believe, people who "sold" the heat gets less chance to have heat exhaustion in the summer, and people who 'bought' the heat gets more.
This part is really nice. Since the contents in it is very Korean, cultural background is almost crucial to understand this part. However, even if someone who does not know about this culture, he or she could figure out what it is. Nice and simple description.
4. Some things aren’t clear to me. These lines or parts could be improved (meaning not clear, supporting points missing, order seems mixed up, writing not lively):
It could be only me, but I have no idea about what sharp ears? mean.
5. The one change you could make that would make the biggest improvement in this piece of writing is that I think your writing is great. If I should find somewhere that I can make a couple of recomandation, I want to tell you this. how about thinking more about an interesting and eye-catching hook?
To Soyeon Jung From Young-jun Yoo
ReplyDelete1. Does the essay have a thesis statement that identifies the process?
- Yes, it does. The thesis statement : "People have to go through a lot of process to have a great Jeong-wol-dae-bo-reum day."
2. Does the writer include background information?
- Yes. To sum up, many Korean festivals take place on the day of full moon, and Jeong-wol-dae-bo-reum is one of them. There are a lot of special activities on that day, but not many people but some still celebrate this tradition.
3. Does each paragraph present a different part of the process?
- Yes. The first body paragraph explains about preparation, cooking and decorating for the event. And the second body paragraph presents many special activities in the morning and afternoon. Then, the third body paragraph tells about activities at the night of Jeong-wol-dae-bo-reum.
4. Are the parts of the process organized in a logical sequence?
- Yes. "Before", "then", "after", "first".
5. Do the body paragraphs have any facts, definitions, or details?
- Each body paragraph provides details of what people cook and prepare and what people do. And the supporting details are clear to me.
6. Does the writer include an evaluation, recommendation, or warning in the conclusion?
- "Therefore, Koreans should try hard to teach young people about Jeong-wol-dae-bo-reum, and make sure they keep this tradition just like their ancestors did." Yes, it does include the recommendation.
The First Day of Full Moon in the Lunar Calendar
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother called me few days ago, wishing me a happy birthday. When I, with surprise, told her that my birthday passed a month ago, she informed me that it is my birthday in the lunar calendar, laughing as hard as she could. As you can see from my experience, Koreans used lunar calendar in the past. Because of that, Korean culture is closely related to moon. A lot of Korean traditional festivals are held on the day of full moon, including Jeong-wol-dae-bo-reum. Jeong-wol-dae-bo-reum, the first full moon day in the lunar year, is very exciting day because people do a lot of special activities. People have to go through a lot of process to have a great Jeong-wol-dae-bo-reum day.
Before the celebration, people get very busy because they have to cook special meal for Jeong-wol-dae-bo-reum, and create decorations. Koreans cook o-gok-bab, rice and other four different types of grains cooked together. They also prepare different kinds of na-mul-mu-chim, which are stir-fried dried herbs. The Koreans eat these foods on the day before Jeong-wol-dae-bo-reum. Other people make dal-jib, a big structure built with wood and straw. Dal-jib in Korean means the house of moon. They also make bok-jo-ri to decorate their homes. Bok means luck, and jo-ri is a tool that looks like a big ladle made of straw. People used to believe that if they hang bok-jo-ri on the front door, they can invite luck into the house.
In the morning and afternoon of Jeong-wol-dae-bo-reum, people do many activities that have significant meanings. First, they eat bu-rum in the early morning. Bu-rum indicates various kinds of nuts people eat on the Jeong-wol-dae-bo-reum. In the past, the Koreans believed that eating nuts on that particular day will prevent them from having boils on their skin, and bring them luck. Next, people drink alcohol during the breakfast, believing that they can have more sharp ears by doing so. They even allow children to drink alcohol just for that day. However, not many people follow this tradition of drinking alcohol these days. After the breakfast, Koreans “sell” their “heat” to each other in Jeong-wol-dae-bo-reum. If someone calls the other person’s name, and he or she answers, the person who called says, “Buy my heat.” In that case, they believe, people who “sold” the heat gets less chance to have heat exhaustion in the summer, and people who ‘bought’ the heat gets more.
The Koreans also do lots of activities at the night of Jeong-wol-dae-bo-reum, and they are more special because it is not done by each individuals or families, but by all members of the village together. First, people divide themselves into two parties and play go-tsa-um. Each team has a thick and long rope with huge loop at the end, and both teams attack the loop of the other team to press it down. If the loop of one team presses down the other loop completely, that team wins. After go-tsa-um, they link the ropes used in go-tsa-um to make single, long rope and play tug and war. Lastly, people gather around the dal-jib and fire it. While the dal-jib burns, they walk around dal-jib, making their wishes to the moon.
There are so many other activities of Jeong-wol-dae-bo-reum that I have not mentioned, because there are just too many of them, and they differ from region to region. All of these activities had been very important aspect of Korean life for more than thousand years, which bring the whole community together, make them enjoy themselves, and let them wish good luck for the new year. However, not many people celebrate Jeong-wol-dae-bo-reum these days. Just few families still celebrate this tradition. It is very sad that lots of Koreans do not know much about this wonderful tradition. Therefore, Koreans should try hard to teach young generation about Jeong-wol-dae-bo-reum, and make sure they keep this tradition just like their ancestors did.