What Seollal is
Seollal (설날) falls on the first day of the lunar calendar, usually late January or early February. It is one of the two largest Korean holidays. Families gather, perform charye for the ancestors, eat tteokguk (rice cake soup, which marks aging up one year), and play games together.
The sebae bow
The central ritual of Seollal. Younger family members perform sebae, a deep New Year bow, to elders and offer wishes for health and good fortune. The elders respond with words of blessing and a small gift of money in an envelope called sebaetdon.
Sebae requires kneeling. This is one reason hanbok is so well-suited to the day, the cut accommodates the deep bow easily. Western pencil skirts and dress slacks often do not.
What Korean families eat
Tteokguk (떡국), beef and rice cake soup, is the Seollal signature. Eating it is said to add a year to your age in the Korean traditional reckoning. Each bite is light, savory, slightly chewy from the rice cakes. The dish is simple to make and rich in meaning.
Other dishes: jeon (savory pancakes), japchae, manduguk (dumpling soup), and a colorful spread of banchan. See what is banchan for context on the side-dish tradition.
What children wear
Korean children love Seollal because of the sebaetdon money and because they get to wear hanbok. Children’s Seollal hanbok is brighter than ceremonial sets, with saekdong sleeves and primary colors. Boys often wear a small jokki vest over the jeogori. Girls wear pink, coral, or magenta chima with a contrasting top. See children’s hanbok.
What adults wear
Adult Seollal hanbok is more conservative than children’s. Muted reds, dusty rose, sage, dove grey. The full traditional set is more common at Seollal than at Chuseok because Seollal carries more ceremonial weight in many families. See Chuseok and Seollal hanbok.
The games
After the meal: yutnori (a board game played with four wooden sticks), neolttwigi (jumping on a board), and yeon-naligi (kite flying) historically. Modern families lean more on the yutnori board, which is small enough to bring out at any family gathering.
Yutnori is competitive in the way only family games are. Grandmothers strategize. Cousins argue. It is the most fun part of Seollal once the formal bowing is done.
How Korean-Americans celebrate
Korean-American families in the Bay Area typically celebrate at home or at a Korean church. The Korean Cultural Center in San Francisco hosts a Seollal event most years. Hanbok is welcomed; not everyone wears it, but if you do, you will fit right in.
Order at least 4 weeks ahead
Seollal hanbok orders peak in November and December. Plan for at least 4 weeks of production from Seoul plus inspection in San Mateo.
Talk to Eric
Looking for hanbok for Seollal? Eric at The Korean In Me sources authentic hanbok personally from Seoul, inspects every piece in San Mateo, and works with each customer on sizing and color. Contact Eric to inquire →