Dano, Daeboreum, Hansik, Dongji: Korea's Other Traditional Holidays

Seollal and Chuseok get the long weekends, but they are not Korea's only traditional holidays. The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) lists four more that still shape the year: Jeongwol Daeboreum, Hansik, Dano, and Dongji. None of them is a public holiday, yet in December 2023 Korea's national heritage agency designated all of them, together with Seollal and Chuseok, as National Intangible Cultural Heritage. Here is what each one marks, drawing on KTO and the National Folk Museum of Korea.

1. A heritage designation for the whole calendar

According to KTO, the December 2023 designation covered five major traditional holiday observances:

1. Seollal and Daeboreum, treated as a single observance
2. Hansik
3. Dano
4. Chuseok
5. Dongji

Pairing Seollal with Daeboreum reflects how the National Folk Museum describes the first lunar month: a run of customs between the New Year and the first full moon, all wishing for a year of abundance and peace.

2. Jeongwol Daeboreum: the first full moon

When: the 15th day of the first lunar month, according to KTO.

Daeboreum (대보름) means "great full moon," and it marks the first full moon of the lunar year. The National Folk Museum describes it as a village-centered day, in contrast to the family-centered Seollal:

• Each village holds a dongje (동제), a rite for the village's guardian spirit, to wish for an abundant and peaceful year.
• Villagers play juldarigi (줄다리기), tug-of-war, and make wishes on the year's first full moon.
• Yut nori, the stick board game, is played as well.

KTO's guide to Korea's UNESCO heritage adds that the Ganggangsullae circle dance has traditionally been performed on the full-moon nights of several holidays, including Daeboreum.

3. Hansik: the cold food day

When: April 5 on the Gregorian calendar, which KTO identifies as the 105th day after Dongji.

Hansik (한식) translates as "cold food day." The National Folk Museum places it in spring and describes it as a day to show gratitude to ancestors: families perform jesa, an ancestral memorial rite, at the gravesite, and tidy the graves. The museum places Hansik in the same season as the start of the farming year, when fields that froze over winter are plowed again.

4. Dano: the fifth day of the fifth month

When: the 5th day of the 5th lunar month, which KTO says usually falls in June.

KTO explains that Dano (단오) grew out of early summer rituals in farming communities, where people prayed for a good harvest. Customs listed by KTO and the National Folk Museum include:

• Changpo hair washing: women washed their hair in water boiled with changpo, sweet flag or Korean iris.
• Wheel-shaped rice cakes: a food KTO associates with the day.
• Ssireum: traditional wrestling, where men showed their strength.
• Swinging: KTO names geunetagi, the traditional rope swing.
• Dano fans: the museum says people prepared for summer by exchanging fans on Dano.

The best-known celebration is the Gangneung Danoje Festival in the city of Gangneung. KTO notes it is inscribed on UNESCO's list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. According to KTO's heritage guide, the festival includes a shamanic ritual called gut to give thanks to the gods of nature, traditional games and performances, and the country's largest open-air market, where visitors can buy local products and crafts.

5. Dongji: the winter solstice

When: around December 22 on the Gregorian calendar, according to KTO.

Dongji (동지) is the winter solstice. The National Folk Museum describes two customs:

• Dongji chaengnyeok (동지책력): people exchanged calendars for the coming year on Dongji.
• Patjuk (팥죽): red bean porridge, eaten on the day and also sprinkled on gates and outer walls to keep evil spirits away.

The museum adds a modern note: in recent years, Dongji also arrives just as Christmas carols and the Salvation Army's bells start up on the streets and people begin sending year-end greetings.

6. Smaller seasonal days

The National Folk Museum's year of customs includes several more minor days worth knowing:

• Samjinnal (삼짇날): the "double three" day in spring, associated with flower viewing and outdoor spring feasts.
• Yudu (유두): a summer water festival in the sixth lunar month, when people went to rivers and streams to cool off. The museum compares it to today's summer vacations.
• Sangdal (상달): the 10th lunar month, when families held a rite offering harvested crops to household gods.

7. How the year fits together

Seen together, the holidays trace the farming year. Daeboreum asks for a good year, Hansik honors ancestors as spring work begins, Dano prays for the harvest as summer arrives, Chuseok gives thanks once it is in, and Dongji closes the year as families swap calendars for the next one.

8. Key takeaways

• In December 2023, five traditional holiday observances, including Daeboreum, Hansik, Dano, and Dongji, were designated National Intangible Cultural Heritage.
• Daeboreum, the first full moon, features village rites, tug-of-war, and wishes on the moon.
• Hansik, on April 5, is for ancestral rites and tending family graves.
• Dano, usually in June, brings changpo hair washing, ssireum, swinging, and the UNESCO-listed Gangneung Danoje Festival.
• Dongji, around December 22, is the day for red bean porridge and exchanging new calendars.