Four Seasons

I find out that Korean people know well that spring, summer, fall, and winter have different characteristics. For instances are in the matters of temperature, weather, and the effects of the nature. They also fully realize that the difference in characteristics in each season bring different impacts on their lives.

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BEFORE living in Korea, I can say that I hardly paid attention to season things. Seasons come and go in my life: rainy season and dry season. The only thing I remember about season in Indonesia is that it is very hot during dry season (causing the well in my house to dry) and there is heavy rain during rainy season (causing the roof tiles to get leaked out).

After living in Korea, my awareness related to season appears gradually. Perhaps, it is because the season here is different from that of Indonesia. Perhaps, it is because I am beginning to realize that the beauty and the uniqueness in each season available in Korea. Perhaps, it is because I suffer from pain due to the fact that I can not bear the cold temperature during the winter in Korea.

I find out that Korean people know well that spring, summer, fall, and winter have different characteristics. For instances are in the matters of temperature, weather, and the effects of the nature. They also fully realize that the difference in characteristics in each season bring different impacts on their lives.

Besides personally experiencing and making a little observation, I know about the uniqueness related to the four seasons in Korea from the books related to Korean language study published by Kyung Hee University, which is full of Korean cultural studies. After reading one of the articles discussing the seasons in Korea, I notice that Korea is a country which is highly affected by the change in seasons. For example, spring lasting between March and May in Korea is the season when the flowers bloom, started from the bloom of Canary flower and jindalae which looks like bush coloured in yellow, then followed by the bloom of jangmi kot (rose) two months later.

Spring is also time for the group of Sakura flowers to bloom. In the first place, I thought that Sakura flowers would bloom throughout the spring. But, now I know I was wrong. Sakura flower only blooms in several days. The petals of Sakura flowers only hang on it for a week and then fall down to the ground after its short beauty impressing lots of people. Once I saw the petals of Sakura flowers flying through the air which then finally drop to the ground. After reaching the soil, they would spread out like a beautiful mat coloured in pink.

Early spring is considered by the Korean people as the beginning of new things. Hence, the spring break becomes the beginning of the new semester at schools and universities. My lecturer in one of my classes once explained that spring for Korean people was identical with season belonging to the women. Why? During this season, Korean women come out of their previous winter clothes covering their beauty. It is in Spring that the woman shows up like a beautiful goddess with bright red and feminine clothes. We certainly have seen how pretty these Korean agashi (miss) during the spring, haven’t we?

Besides bringing the beauty, spring also causes suffering for Korean people. It is because during the spring, they have to get ready for the coming of yellow dust from Gobi desert blown by the wind to Korea. If the sky over the Korean peninsula is covered by the yellow dust, breathing illness attacks.

After that, summer comes and lasts for three months, from June to August. During the summer, uniquely, there is a period when the rain falls heavily in several days. Korean people call this rain as jangma and the period of the rainfall as jangma chol (chol means season). After jangma abates, usually the warm temperature and extremely humid air attack Korea. It has been a tradition for Korean people to eat samgyetang (full chicken boiled with onion and filled with rice and some spice). They say that after eating samgyetang, they would sweat a lot and their bodies would feel better. You have tried samgyetang during this summer, haven’t you?

During the summer, another disaster happens, that is the typhoon (not only once, but several times) which brings strong wind at speed, heavy rain, and flood. This typhoon usually comes from the regions around Philippines blowing north through Taiwan island, Japan, and finally destroys the area along the east coast of Korean peninsula before continuing its route to China. Regarding this typhoon, my lecturer once said a joke stating that Korea imported three main commodities from Philippines i.e. banana, singer, and typhoon (^ ^).

The hot temperature is gone once the fall arrives from September to November. During this season, Korean people go on vacation to mountainous regions, enjoying the scenery of trees with leaves colour changing from green to yellow, orange, brown, and red. This nature phenomenon is called dampung and the holiday spent to watch the beauty of the leaves is called dampung yoheng (yoheng means vacation).

Fresh air and fine weather during the fall are often enjoyed by Korean people by reading books (this activity is called dokseo); and because of this, the fall season is also called reading season. Students feel comfortable being in the library and the book stores are full of purchasers. And if spring is identical with women, Korean people recall fall as the season of men. What’s the reason? During this season, men wear sweater and scarf which make them look gorgeous and charming for women.

Finally, there comes the winter which is very cold from December until the end of February. The temperature can reach minus 10 degree celcius. In this season, it is time for Korean people to switch on ondol (the heater for the floor made by Korean people which is put on the floor of their house so that it can get warm, the specially designed heater pot under the floor of Korean houses so as to warm up the floor). Korean people enjoy the winter by skiing in the ski in the places where there is much snow. During this winter, old women in Korea are busy to cook kimchi. It is because during the winter people can suffer from flu easily. Therefore, consuming kimchi containing a lot of garlic is surely beneficial in preventing their bodies from being attacked by this illness.

If you have the chance to stay in Korea during the winter, I suggest that you try to take time seeing jjot nun or the first snow. Korean people are very happy if they are able to see the first snow falling. And if they know we are in Korea during the winter, they would enthusiastically ask, “Did you see the first snow falling?”, “At that moment, what wish did you make?”

If I were asked such question, I would answer, “I wish winter would not feel cold”. Hehehe, an ordinary wish, isn’t it? What is else could I ask for the person whose country does not have four seasons.

Seoul, 2-3 July 2004