Today Is The Winter Solstice In Korea

The Winter Solstice Is When The Sun Passes Through The Winter Solstice Around December 22 Each Year

In the northern hemisphere, such as South Korea, this is the time of year when the days are shortest and the nights are longest, and the start of the year was traditionally considered the winter solstice (동지).

Let’s look at the winter solstice in recent years :

• December 21, 2020 – Lunar Calendar November 7
• December 22, 2021 – Lunar Calendar November 19
• December 22, 2022 – Lunar Calendar November 29
• December 22, 2023 – Lunar Calendar November 10

There Are Three Main Types Of Solstices

• When the winter solstice falls in early November (Nov 1-10 in Lunar Calendar): ‘Young Winter Solstice’ (‘Ae-Dongji’)

• When the winter solstice falls in the middle of November (Nov 11-20 in Lunar Calendar): ‘Mid Winter Solstice’ (‘Joong-Dongji’)

• When the winter solstice falls in the late November (Nov 21 – 30 in Lunar Calendar): ‘Old Winter Solstice (‘No-Dongji’)

This Year, It’s The Ae-Dongji (Young Winter Solstice)

In Korea, we usually eat red bean porridge on the winter solstice. As the story goes, Pat-jook (red bean porridge) was eaten on the winter solstice because ghosts don’t like the color red. Our ancestors believed that red beans, which are red in color, had the power to repel evil spirits.

However, during the “Young Winter Solstice”, people eat Pat-sirutteok (layered rice cake with red beans) instead of red bean porridge. This is because it is believed that eating red bean porridge, a food that wards off evil spirits, in a house with a baby will cause the baby to become sick. Therefore, the custom of eating red beans and shirutteok instead of red bean porridge has been continued to this day.

Pat-jook (red bean porridge)

Pat-sirutteok (layered rice cake with red beans)

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