FFF (15)- Korean New Year's

Although Korean holidays typically follow the Lunar calendar, January 1^st is still recognized as New Years Day.  Unlike American traditions, Koreans do not consume excessive amounts of alcohol (well, any more than a typical day) and slur out a countdown from 10, all while watching a massive ball drop above the largest city in the country, and drunkenly grab the closest person nearby- male or female- kiss them and scream “HAPPY NEW YEAR!”  No, that only happens in the U.S.

Instead, families gather together and if they’ve planned well in advance, perhaps they’ll take on the crowds at Jeongdongjin, located on the shores of the North East province, Gangwon-do.

With every Korean holiday comes a Korean festival- and that’s exactly what happens at Jeongdongjin.  In fact, while visiting Korea last year, Brandon and I were brave enough to take on the adventure.

Dressed in literally six layers, we rolled ourselves out of our hotel and onto the street to admire the festivities.  Starting circa 9pm, bands take the stage and venders line the streets.  Around 11:45pm a sea of Asians gather around the famous “hour glass”, which appropriately should be named the “yearly glass”, as sand drops from on half to the other throughout the entirety of the year.

Bundled up like marshmellows in front of the "year glass".

The "year glass" rolling across the stage, turning over for New Years.

Happy New Year!!

A quick “Happy New Year” and an awkward, nobody-else-is-locking-lips kiss and we were off to bed.  Lame?  Not in Korea.  Following with the Korean traditions, we awoke at 6am to endure the wind from the Sea of Japan.

Although we chose to dish out the dollars for a double the price hotel, most Koreans actually take an overnight train to enjoy the highlight of the festival- the first sunrise of the year.  Interestingly, the tracks running through Jeongdongjin actually hold the world record for the closest train to an ocean, so as you can imagine, the views are spectacular.

Anyway, rolling out of the hotel and huffing up a small mountain, we secured our place in a traditional Korean gazebo to admire the first sunrise of 2010 over the Sea of Japan.

One of the many photos of the sunrise over the Sea of Japan.

With 2011 rolling up, we decided one and done.  Despite the culturalness and spectacular views of the event, I wasn’t about to freeze my tush off again.  So come 2011, Brandon and I split a bottle of wine (and then maybe a bottle of champagne too) in the warmth of our apartment, sitting on our heated floors playing rummy.

Humdrum?  Perhaps.  But come January 1^st, I wasn’t about to fall down the mountains of Yong Pyong on my first ever ski trip!