Chilseok, Korean Valentine’s Day?
Chilseok has been described as Korean Valentine’s Day. The event is actually known across East Asia: in China the celebration is called Qixi. In Japan it’s Tanabata. And in Korea, Chilseok.
The story comes from a famous Chinese folk Tale The Weaver and the Herder. It’s about a humble ox herder who falls in love with the daughter of the Jade Emperor of the Sky. The legend goes that on this day, two separated lovers can meet across the Milky Way. And they do this with the help of a bridge made by magpies and crows! (scroll down for the story below)
I heard about the story of Chilseok when we went on a weekend trip to Namwon in North Jeolla Province. There’s a bridge there dedicated to the story of Chilseok. But Namwon has a double romantic claim to fame as it is the hometown of Chunhyang, the heroine in the The Story of Chunhyang, a Korean literary classic.
What happens on Chilseok?
I haven’t noticed any particular events or romantic celebrations for Chilseok in Seoul! Maybe it’s too hot in August. (The most romantic day in Korea is probably Christmas Eve when the restaurants are full of young couples. It’s also the day in our house to stay at home as we are old and grumpy…) Chilseok falls on the 7th day of the 7th month of the lunisolar calendar. (The hanja for Chilseok literally mean ‘7 night’ (七 夕). But that’s when the temperature here is over 30 degrees most of the time and it can be rainy and humid too.
Traditionally, this was a time for people to go to the Buddhist temple to make an offering – chilseok bulgong 칠석불공 and pray for a good harvest. Women prayed to the spirit of Vega, the Weaving Maid’s Star, for good skills in needlework. It was also the time to stare up at the stars and write wishes on paper tied to bamboo.
What’s a traditional food on Chilseok?
Since Chilseok falls in the summer after the wheat is harvested, in Korea people often ate pan-fried wheat flour cakes (밀떡) made with newly-harvested wheat filled with sweetened red bean paste.
related posts:
Bingsu: a summer dessert with red adzuki beans
The flavours of Summer in Korea
What’s the story of Chilseok?
The characters in this tragic love story are based on two stars Altair and Vega that can be seen high in the night sky in August.
Actually, there are various versions of the story. And they might have a different focus and message! Here are two versions that I found.
GYEONU and JINGNYEO the ox-herder and the weaver
the message is ‘obsessive love leads to misfortune’
Gyeonu was a hard-working herder and Jing-nyeo was a good weaver and the granddaughter of the Jade Emperor. One day the two happened to meet and they fell in love at first sight.
Despite their different backgrounds the Emperor allowed his granddaughter to marry the lowly ox-herder since he seemed like a decent chap.
But the Emperor soon regretted this decision when the two lovers fell so much in love that they started neglecting their duties of ox-herding and weaving.
This caused chaos and all sorts of misfortune in the heavens. The Emperor was very angry indeed and separated the lovers forever making them live on opposite sides of the Milky Way!
The crows and magpies being very empathetic birds were moved by the plight of the lovers and decided to help them. And so they joined together across the Milky Way to make a bridge.
The couple crossed the bridge from either side of the Milky Way and met in the middle. And after that every year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, the crows and magpies made the “Ojak Kyo” – crows and magpies bridge – so that the lovers could meet again.
(from the Encyclopaedia of Korean Seasonal Customs)
GYEONU and JINGNYEO, the ox-herder and the weaver
In this Buddhist version of the story, the two lovers fall in love but are not allowed to marry because he is a lowly ox-herder and she is royalty.
the message is ‘strict social class structure leads to misfortune’
The King of Heaven separates the two lovers and puts them on either side of Milky Way. But this causes problems when the tears of the devastated lovers cause flooding on Earth.
The animals on earth get together for some serious crisis management.
The crows and magpies agree to solve the flooding issue by making a bridge to let the lovers meet. But this can only happen for a brief time every year.
It isn’t an easy piece of engineering but they manage it. And so now the two lovers are able to meet every year and they don’t cry so much anymore.
(from Korean Buddhism)
💔
So in the first story the lovers have only themselves to blame. In the second they are the victims of social convention. But either way the outcome is the same!
The tears of the lovers have inspired a saying about the rain. If it rains the day before Chilseok, it’s because the lovers are happy. So they are crying tears of joy at being reunited.
But if it rains on the day after Chilseok, it’s because the lovers are sad. So they are crying because they have to separate again for another year. 💔
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Was not expecting the story behind Korea’s Valentine day, quite dramatic indeed! Love the “” at the end of the paragraphs ^_^ .
Sounds a bit more attractive than being pierced by an arrow !
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