- Sky, plane, New Year
- Preparation for celebrations
- How the National New Year is celebrated
Until 1896, the Country of Morning Freshness lived according to its own calendar, according to which the New Year in South Korea began with the arrival of the first lunar month. The date was not constant, and Koreans celebrated the coming new year from late January to early February. With the adoption of the Gregorian calendar, South Korea celebrates the holiday twice: as before, in accordance with its own traditions and with the whole world on December 31st.
Sky, plane, New Year
If you decide to celebrate the New Year in the Land of Morning Freshness or are going to get acquainted with the customs of the Koreans by taking part in the celebration of the traditional oriental change of years, called Seollal here, try to plan your trip well in advance. If you start booking tickets a few months before the date of the expected departure, you can save about a third of their cost.
You can subscribe to the mailing of special offers on the websites of air carriers. So you will be able to follow the news and prices and be aware of all discounts and promotions. The required addresses are www.koreanair.com, www.aeroflot.ru.
Moscow and Seoul are connected by several direct and connecting flights of various airlines:
- An ideal option is a direct flight on the wings of Aeroflot, which has daily regular flights in its schedule. Round-trip Economy Class tickets start at 440 euros. Passengers will have to spend about 9.5 hours in the sky. Boards rise from Sheremetyevo.
- With a docking in Istanbul, Turkish airlines fly from the capital's Vnukovo airport to Seoul. The price of the issue is from 460 euros, and the journey takes as much as 13 hours, excluding the change. Not a very convenient option, but in the absence of tickets for a direct flight, the information may come in handy.
- For 510 euros, tickets from Moscow to Seoul are sold on the Finnair website. The transfer will take place in Helsinki and the flight takes just over 10 hours, excluding the connection.
- The option with Finnish airlines is more suitable for residents of St. Petersburg who decide to go to Korea for the New Year. For 550 euros, they will fly from Pulkovo to Incheon Airport via the Finnish capital. The price of a ticket from St. Petersburg to Seoul on an Aeroflot flight is from 555 euros with a transfer at Moscow Sheremetyevo.
Far East people will be able to get from Russia to South Korea the fastest. Aeroflot and Korean Airlines offer direct scheduled flights lasting just over an hour. True, the price tag for tickets for both the flagship of Russian passenger aviation and Korean Air for such a short flight is completely inhumane - 300 and 500 euros for a round-trip ticket, respectively.
Preparation for celebrations
The Land of Morning Freshness boasts a multi-denominational identity. Almost a third of the residents here profess Christianity, and therefore Christmas in South Korea is not just a tribute to fashion or tourists. Back in early December, the streets and squares of the country begin to transform, Christmas trees appear on them, festive illumination, New Year markets open and theatrical performances are staged. Koreans are in a hurry to buy gifts for family and friends, and housewives are in a hurry to stock up on all the necessary products for preparing festive traditional Korean cuisine.
In Catholic and Protestant communities, it is customary to celebrate Christmas in the family circle, and therefore on this day children come to their parents' homes and meet with their relatives at the festive table.
By the New Year's Eve, most of the festive celebrations have subsided and the meeting on January 1 among young people usually takes place at noisy parties and in nightclubs. The older generation prefers to wait for the first sunrise of the year by the sea or in the mountains.
In the capital of the republic, the "Western" New Year is also celebrated at Posingak Square in the city center. There is a large bell that has been announcing the closing of the Seoul gate in the evenings for centuries. Now the bell heralds the arrival of the new year with thirty-three beats on the night of December 31 to January 1.
How the National New Year is celebrated in South Korea
The main holiday in the Land of Morning Freshness is its own New Year, here called Seollal. The date of its occurrence "floats" between the end of January and the beginning of February and is determined by the eastern lunar calendar.
Celebration of Seollal drags on for several days, because for the new year it is customary to visit older relatives and spend important days in the family circle. The tradition of respecting elders is called "sebe" and is a special ceremony with national costumes, bows and veneration. Old people give money to young people, and this custom also has its own name - "sebeton". In addition to material gifts, elderly family members give young people a wise speech called "toktam", in which instructions for the coming year are heard. Koreans strictly honor the important New Year's custom, despite the all-out onset of the era of urbanization and technical revolution.
The main dishes appearing on holiday tables in Seollal days are the rice flour tteok cake and the hot tteokguk soup with rice dumplings. By the way, after eating a bowl of this soup on the day of Seollal, the Korean becomes one year older. South Koreans call this interesting custom "tol". It lies in the fact that earlier on this day, all residents of the country became a year older. It was not customary to celebrate an individual birthday. Now the situation has changed and in the passport of each inhabitant of the Country of Morning Freshness there is their own date of birth, but no one neglects the opportunity to celebrate a birthday twice a year. Koreans, inquiring about the age of the interlocutor, can ask how many bowls of tteokguk he ate.
Active outdoor games, kite flying, swinging, and juggling are a cultural program during the Korean New Year's Eve.
All prices in the material are approximate and given as of April 2017. It is better to check the exact cost on the official websites of service providers and carriers.
