About Customs and Food

Sebae-Don is money that children receive after bowing to adults or acquaintances on New Year's Day, and is a common custom seen every Lunar New Year holiday in Korea. Sebae is Korea's unique greeting method of bowing to elders on Lunar New Year's Day. There is a custom of giving new bills as Sebae-Don. This is probably because it is money received on the first day of the new year, so it is meant to be used positively and not fraudulently. In fact, the exchange rate of new banknotes at banks is high before the Lunar New Year.

Hanbok is Korea’s traditional clothing handed down since ancient times. Korean wear Hanbok in weddings, the Lunar New Year, annual ancestral rites, or the birth of a child. Hanbok is based on straight lines and slight curves, and the lines of the clothing are very beautiful. There are people who still wear hanbok nowadays because it does not look out of place at all and is so unique and pretty that it can be worn as a fashion item.

Bok-Jumeoni is a pouch with auspicious patterns engraved on colorful fabric, and was worn to attract good luck. You can put small items, money, or coins in it, tighten the opening, and wear it on your belt or carry it in your hand. Also, in the new year, they are given to others to wish them peace and well-being in the new year.

Tteokguk is a soup made by boiling oval-shaped rice cakes in water and is a representative dish of New Year's Day and Lunar New Year. It is a custom to eat tteokguk on the first day of the new year. The reason is that tteokguk rice cake is originally made from long rice cakes, which symbolizes disease-free longevity. There is a saying that if you eat a bowl of tteokguk, you get a year older from long ago.