Cracking bureom (부럼) -- an assortment of walnuts, pine nuts and peanuts – is practiced on Jeongwol Daeboreum to wish for good health for the year ahead. (Hahm Hee-eun)
By Kim Hyelin and Kim Young Shin
Jeongwol Daeboreum refers to the day of the first full moon in the Lunar New Year. In the past, this occasion was considered as important as Seollal (Lunar New Year) because each farming village hosted the year's first big event as a community. Many traditional customs were practiced this day to wish for good health and bountiful harvest.
The most popular event in Jeongwol Daeboreum is the crushing of bureom (부럼), an assortment of walnuts, pine nuts and peanuts. The belief was that crushing open these nuts on the morning of Jeongwol Daeboreum strengthened teeth and prevented boils throughout the year.
Ogokbap (오곡밥), or rice comprising five grains, and yakbap (약밥), or sweet sticky rice made with nuts, are also eaten on this day with seasoned herbs as another custom wishing for good health and harvest. At night, people climb hills to welcome the lunar year’s first full moon and make a wish.
Koreans drink a cup of cold liquor called gwibalgisul (귀밝이술), which is believed to sharpen hearing and bring good news.
Other customs are unrelated to food. People sell their midsummer heat to their peers, with whoever saying "Buy my heat" first expected to have a more pleasant summer with less heat.
Jwibulnori (쥐불놀이), the practice of swinging a bundle of dried grass tied to a flaming string, is a custom practiced on the night of Jeongwol Daeboreum. (Korea.net DB)
At night, traditional activities used to feature setting fires on dried grass such as making a large bonfire called daljiptaewoogi (달집태우기) and jwibulnori (쥐불놀이), or the swinging of a bunch of burning grass, to drive away mice and harmful insects from farm fields. These activities are now mostly banned for the sake of public safety, but many municipal and provincial governments and museums host traditional events like these to give people a taste of the past.