The Postscript: Saehae Bok Mani Badeuseyo

BY YUSON YI

The Korean New Year is called Seollal, the first day in the Korean lunar calendar. Seollal is one of the biggest holidays in Korea, and the celebration is typically three days long. Seollal is an important family holiday when we can come together to share stories, perform ancestral rituals, eat traditional foods, play folk games and more.

An essential part of the holiday is the charye, a ritual to receive blessings from our ancestors. Relatives gather at the house of the oldest male in the family, where preparing a large amount of food is a major task. Growing up in Seoul, my sisters and I had to help my mom prepare the meal. We did not like the chore then, but now, as I remember it, it was a happy time... spending time with my mom and learning how to cook holiday food.

I especially enjoyed eating Seollal foods like tteokguk, a sliced rice cake soup. The meal marks the passing of the previous year, with its warm broth bringing comfort and prosperity into the next. After charye and the family meal, children do a traditional sebae bow to their parents and elders of the family by kneeling and putting their hands on the ground. When bowing to elders, they say Saehae Bok Mani Badeuseyo, which means “Have lots of luck in the New Year.” The elders respond with blessings to the children, then typically reward them with a small gift of money called sebaetdon to deliver them luck.

For children, receiving sebaetdon is an exciting part of Seollal. I was so envious of my friends who had many relatives, as Seollal is the day when kids can earn a hefty allowance. Even the fussiest child will decide to be cute – say “Grandma, Saehae Bok Mani Badeuseyo” with fluttering eyelashes and a charming smile. Sebaetdon is often given inside an envelope, but traditionally, it was given inside a colorful silk pouch called bok jumeoni, which means “lucky pouch.” Bok jumeoni is made with vibrant silk or cotton fabric and embroidered with a letter wishing good fortune. It is believed that wearing bok jumeoni full of grains wrapped with red paper brings good luck.

My childhood memories of Seollal are full of color. I liked peering through my window, watching people in the street on their way to visit relatives wearing hanbok, Korean traditional clothing. I loved that colorful silk pouch hanging at their side. It was beautiful in view... likewise, it had a cash gift! How could I not love that, even when my bok jumeoni was not as full as those of my friends? To me, the pouch looked like a fruit – a fruit you pick to fill yourself with luck and happiness.

As an artist who now calls Clarksville home, I try to embrace my Korean cultural heritage in my work. While sketching an idea for a New Year’s painting, I remembered my childhood impressions of Seollal. Inspired by those memories, I painted bok jumeoni hanging in a tree, standing on a snowy watercolor field, and titled it Lucky Fruit.

The pouch features the saekdong pattern, which includes colorful stripes created by patchwork, usually using the dynamic colors of blue, green, yellow, white and black. I love the saekdong colors. They are traditional, but also modern and contemporary. I painted the saekdong pouch to wish people a vibrant new year. My painting Happy New Year uses a traditional Korean patchwork quilt pattern and colors with a New Year blessing in the Korean language at the center. I celebrate Korean nature with the mountain, river and New Year’s rising sun.

This year, Seollal falls on January 22 and it is the year of the rabbit – a year of luck and courage. Cheers to a radiant and joyful year, even with the challenges in our daily lives.

Pick and enjoy the lucky fruit as much as you can! Saehae Bok Mani Badeuseyo!