The Diary of New Year’s Day by lunar calendar of Korea

by Kim Soonim

5:35 pm   Saturday  Feb. 2005.

In Taxi…..I look a wristwatch, a watch on the taxi and a car window by turn. The traffic is held up. If I lost my train, I’ll probably can’t beck my home town.

We call New Year’s day by lunar calendar of Korea “The Whole Movement of The Race”. Because some family who live in big city come beck to there home town or there parents go to the big city for meeting there sons and daughters.  They get together semiannually like this. So all ticket of trains, bus, air before New year’s day is sold out and most of express highways be parking. I booked my ticket before 1 month. Never… Never be late for a train…

I stopped  the taxi on the center of the street and run to subway.

The subway is full also of home-coming peoples who hold present in there hands. I’m out of breath and enter at train station through a crowd. It is 30m each line. Most of peoples wait boring. I’m urgent and shout. “I’m sorry! My train will be leave just now!”. People give up first line to me because of a woman’s scream. So I can got a ticket and take train in time. I have a sliding thrill like a baseball player.

Korea is a small country. So you can go everywhere for 5 hour. But New year’s day is an exception. If you use your car, nobody know your arrival time. Because The traffic is held up in the highway. At a time like this, train is the most fast.

After 3 hour.

‘Pung-gi Station’

Pung-gi is small town so train station is also small and lovely.

I’m flutter always when I stand up in hear..

I catch my mother in a waiting room….. My home is just 10 min by walk from hear. But she care about her first daughter. She smiles to see me.

My brother stay Canada in this time. And my sister will go to her husband’s home first. So I come beck alone. But I don’t worry. My father have 5 sisters and 2 brothers. They come to see there parents to here. They have there home and some aunts is grandmother. My father and mother also. But we have big grandparents. So they gather together every New Year’s Day with there family. (my grandparents live the apartment near from my father’s house. So my father has breakfast in his house, lunch in his office and diner in grandmother’s house. But grandmother has pain of old age. So my mother should keep two house. – in Korea of late, A large family live each neighboring house than one house.)

I always have deep and long sleep whenever came beck to my home. I’m relieved of my fatigue from city in my room it has all memories of my childhood. Of course my mother don’t like it. She want to talking with me and I help her in house work. So she give me a lecture always. But father understand me.

I was wake up and than call to my old friends. But they are so busy.

Maybe they’ll be the married.

Yes! Korea has the sickness for Korean married woman. We call “The Holiday Syndrome”. Most of daughter-in-law must keep kitchen to cooking for religious service (sacrificial rite) all day before New Years Day. And they have a lot of things for visitors at that day. So they have a lot of physical and mental stress like my mother and sister.

Korea is fast growing of economic. Also it raise woman’s status in society. Many woman has there work and they are acknowledged professional. Woman has equal treatment of low. But our society is to fast growing. We have many adult of old mind. Most of them is the head of a family. We should live together in this society. Actually, The woman who has more high education feel unjust. When they have a lot of things in the kitchen, there husband whom they love watch TV or play paduk (Korean checkers) or has talking in a sitting room with there family. They probably want to help there lovely wife. But if they do it, absolutely his mother don’t like it. Maybe her husband’s mother will be hates her.

 The morning of New Years Day.

I dress in ‘Hanbock (Korean traditional clothes)’ then do ‘Sebea (the New Year’s greetings) to my parents. The Sebea is formal bow of respect and thanks for take care of me last year to elders on New Year’s Day. We share well-wishing remarks together when we do the Sebea. And the elders give the New Year’s gift money to there juniors. We call ‘Sebea-Don’. The Childs collect money in ‘happy bag’ it has splendid stripes of many colors. The means of the money is symbol of happiness, luck, and fortune and also pocket money to buy new things for child in person.

I was 31 years old just now.

But I’m still child in my house because of unmarred. So I got the Sebea-Don with my nephews. It is little embarrassed and fun.

The religious service at New years Day is Confucianism rite what is thanks for take care last year and ask to take care this year also to ancestors so we are entertained ancestor’s soul by food with our best wishes. Now many family is participated woman in this rite. My family’s is still only for man by reason of stubborn(about tradition) grandfather who is 95 years old and my mother who is committed Christian .

After religious service, we eat ‘Duckguk (Korean rice-cake soup)’ together. The Duckguk means one year old. So many child try eating many ball of Duckguk because they want to be adult and old maid don’t like eating it.

Most of relative (mother’s family and father’s family/ like Lee’s and Kim’s) live in this small town. So we made a village tour to bow for ‘Happy New Year’. We share delight, thanks, and happiness.

Night.

A call from my old friend.

They have space time just now after religious service. We greet etch other and drink the soju with our memories of childhood. We put our different memories about same accident together and came beck to pure moment. …..

Mother pack up some food and fruit for me. Of course I don’t like it because it is so heavy and make smell in the train and I can buy it in Seoul. But I can’t refuse true heart of mother. And mother’s food is different.

Waiting New Year’s Day’s special train at dawn, I avoid mother’s anxious look. Always daughter who is unmarred and single specially is anxiety of there family. But the other hans, she have pride about me and support me by whole mind. I know it so I’m rich.

At the return train, I feel energy on my mind.