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• ●Patjuk with rice balls is a seasonal favorite.
  

• ●The color red has long been believed to chase away dark energy.

The Winter Solstice, or “Dongji” in Korean, refers to the point when the path of the sun is farthest south in the Northern Hemisphere. It’s the day with the shortest period of daylight and the longest night of the year.

This year, it falls on December 22.  

For millennia, Koreans have considered the Winter Solstice to have far greater significance than just the day with the shortest period of daylight. This can be seen by how they called it “Little Lunar New Year.”

In Korea, the Winter Solstice, one of 24 annual demarcations defined by the sun’s trajectory, has long been observed with a special dish: patjuk or red bean porridge.  

In the olden days, Koreans believed red beans had the power to chase away evil spirits as the color symbolized positive energy and was effective in warding against dark energy.

They not only ate patjuk but also placed the crimson porridge around their houses – in ancestral shrines near the front door and wall as well as other areas – as part of a ritual to thwart evil spirits. Koreans believed consuming the dish at least once a year would help them live a long and healthy life.    

Patjuk is served with small glutinous rice balls, called “saealsim” in Korean, and the number of the chewy rice balls is an indicator of the age of the people who consume the dish.

Other countries have their own traditions to mark the day.

In the United States, the Winter Solstice marks the official start of the season.

Elise Youn, a Ph.D candidate in Geography at the University of California, Berkeley, said Americans know what it is but few celebrate it: “We have the Winter Solstice, but no traditions exist around it as in Korea,” she said.  

Special Winter Solstice dishes do appear in China and Taiwan, however, to celebrate the day.  

“Taiwanese and mainlanders celebrate Dongji and eat ‘tangyuan’ (balls of glutinous rice served in hot broth or syrup),” said Sam Len, a Korean Taiwanese living in Seoul.  

“Tangyuan symbolizes family togetherness, completeness and longevity. The rice balls are traditionally stuffed with black sesame seeds and peanuts that are believed to warm the body and enhance the immune system to better fight the cold.”  

Len went on to say that while southerners in China consume tangyuan during the Winter Solstice, northerners eat dumplings.

**If you have any questions about this article, feel free to contact us at kocis@korea.kr.**