Intermediate English Writing (1) Monday 7-8
200801224 DIS
Park, Sunghee
Daeboreum (Big Full Moon Day)
Last Sunday, people around the world were waiting for Super moon which is a full moon that coincides with a close approach by the Moon to the Earth. Even though it was the biggest full moon in twenty years, Korean couldn't see it due to the bad weather. For Korean, however, there is another awaited full moon called 'Daeboreum.' In Korean, it means 'Big full moon' and it is the day of the first full moon according to the lunar calendar. This is the day praying for Happy New Year, especially for the health. Most Korean still celebrate the day and there are many interesting events.
In the morning, first of all, people drink an alcohol which is called 'Ear-quickening wine.' The name of the alcohol sounds weird but it means "hope this year be full of good news." Usually, people drink refined rice wine as an Ear-quickening wine. This is served before the breakfast and this is for men and women of all ages. When they drink the wine, people say "Quicken your ears!" I remembered this was the first alcohol that I drink, though it was a sip of wine.
During the day, there is an event I love to do, which is called "Buy my heat." This is a kind of game selling the heat that I get in the near future. The process of the game is quite simple. When you meet someone, you need to call his/her name at first. If the person responds saying 'yes', you can shout "Buy my heat!" Since the man buys your heat at the moment, you will not get the heat this year and the person will be affected the heat easily instead of you. On the contrary to this, the person who you called does not respond and he/she can shout "Buy my heat, you first!" In this case, you will get the heat instead of the man. When I was young, I used to cry after I bought others' heat.
At night, the most important event is held. This is the event biting on nut in order to hope be healthy. Usually, people bite on pine nut, walnut, and peanut and these set of nuts are called 'Bureom' in Korean. As people bite Bureom as many as their age, they believe not only it can make their teeth strong but it can raise their immunity. I guess this is because Bureom is very hard to bite. Among the events on Daeboreum, this must be the most popular event and many people still do it every year. My mother also buys Bureom every Daeboreum and we all do this event.
Other than the three events, there are various events such as moon-viewing, stepping on bridges, and burning the field. According to research, almost one-fourth of Korean customs come from Daeboreum. Even though this is not as significant as the Lunar New Year's Day or Chuseok, Korean still consider it as one of the important events. Since it is sad that a lot of customs have been forgotten, I hope Daeboreum be more active festival.
It was so funny when you mentioned the ear-quickening wine and the first time you drank it. I drank alcohol, too. I think Korean kids learn to drink quite earlier.^^
ReplyDeleteIt was so interesting about the research that shows one-fourth of Korean customs were actually from Daeboreum. It think it would be better if you gave us any examples of those customs in Korea.
I agree with you about the point that we need to make our traditional customs more active, if you meant that in your writing. I knew some stuffs about Daeboreum, but it was really good to read them organized. There's only a little hope that it would be good if you had put more detail origins of Daeboreum. Nice work!
sung hee,
ReplyDeleteI like your introduction of the essay because it is well connected with your topic- full moon and Daeboreum. It was also interesting to know the events held in Daeboreum.
I like the words of line in second paragraph,"hope this year be full of good news" because it remind me of the meaning of ear-quickening wine.
It was so organized that I do not have difficulty to read. But when I read 'buy my heat' for the first time, it takes time to figure out what it is. Then, a-ha, I could understand. It may be difference between Korean and English.
Thank you.
<2nd draft>
ReplyDeleteLast Sunday, people around the world were waiting for Super moon which is a full moon that coincides with a close approach by the Moon to the Earth. Even though it was the biggest full moon in twenty years, Korean couldn’t see it due to the bad weather. For Korean, however, there is another awaited full moon called Daeboreum. In Korean, it means ‘Big full moon’ and it is the day of the first full moon according to the lunar calendar. This is the day praying for Happy New Year, especially for the health. Most Korean still celebrate the day and there are many interesting events.
In the morning, first of all, people drink an alcohol which is called ‘Ear-quickening wine.’ The name of the alcohol sounds weird but it means “hope this year be full of good news.” Usually, people drink refined rice wine as an Ear-quickening wine. This is served before the breakfast and this is for men and women of all ages. When they drink the wine, people say “Quicken your ears!” I remembered this was the first alcohol that I drink, though it was a sip of wine.
During the day, there is an event I love to do, which is called “Bring my heat.” This is a kind of game selling the heat that I get in the near future. The process of the game is quite simple. When you meet someone, you need to call his/her name at first. If the person responds saying ‘yes’, you can shout “Bring my heat!” Since the man buys your heat at the moment, you will not get the heat this year and the person will be affected the heat easily instead of you. On the contrary to this, the person who you called does not respond and he/she can shout “Bring my heat, you first!” In this case, you will get the heat instead of the man. When I was young, I used to cry after I bought others’ heat.
At night, the most important event is held. This is the event biting on nut in order to hope be healthy. Usually, people bite on pine nut, walnut, and peanut and these set of nuts are called Bureom in Korean. As people bite Bureom as many as their age, they believe not only it can make their teeth strong but it can raise their immunity. I guess this is because Bureom is very hard to bite. Among the events on Daeboreum, this must be the most popular event and many people still do it every year. My mother also buys Bureom every Daeboreum and we all do this event.
Other than the three events, there are various events such as moon-viewing, stepping on bridges, and burning the field. According to research, almost one-fourth of Korean customs come from Daeboreum. Even though this is not as significant as the Lunar New Year’s Day or Chuseok, Korean still consider it as one of the important events. Since it is sad that a lot of customs have been forgotten, I hope Daeboreum be more active festival.