What Seollal is
Tteokguk simmers on the stove on the first morning of the lunar year. In the next room, a grandchild in a coral chima kneels forehead to the floor, and a grandmother in dove-grey silk lifts her hand to bless the new year and hand over a small white envelope of 세뱃돈. This is 설날, and this is the moment the whole holiday exists to hold.
Seollal falls on the first day of the lunar calendar, late January or early February. This is a short piece on what the holiday is, the sebae bow at the center of it, the tteokguk that adds a year to your age in the Korean reckoning, and the hanbok that lets the deep bow happen without a Western pencil skirt getting in the way.
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 →