Our ancestor's seasonal customs viewed
with food in the 1800's

ⓒ Hong Seokmo, <Dongguksesigi>, 2020, Baeksan Publishing House

The seasonal customs that have inspired and vitalized life since past. Although many traditional seasonal customs are said to have faded a lot today, we still gather with our families on New Year's Day for New Year's greetings, and we hold ancestral rites or visit our ancestor's grave during Chuseok. In addition, there are many food-related events in the seasonal customs, which were an important procedure in the agricultural society. Our ancestors used to make food from the time of the year, which is well documented in <Dongguksesigi>.

<Dongguksesigi> is a book written by Hong Seokmo of the family of Poongsan Hong Clan, a prestigious family of Joseon Dynasty, it is all about seasonal customs and customs conducted on the Korean Peninsula from January to December. The newly published book <Dongguksesigi> organizes the food sections and divides seasonal foods that were eaten according to seasonal customs by month. Each dish contains the original text and interpretation, ingredients and quantity, and how to make it. In particular, the difference between other existing books and this book is that each of the stories contained in food was reviewed by researching various ancient books.

Hwajeon(Pan-fried flower rice cake) in spring
and
Gukhwajeon(Pan-fried chrysanthemum rice cake) in fall

Hwajeon ⓒ AENDA Inc.,

Eating Tteokguk(sliced rice cake soup) on New Year's Day, Songpyeon(half-moon rice cake) on Chuseok, and Patjuk(red bean porridge) on Dongji is still a familiar custom these days. However, eating hwajeon in spring and gukhwajeon in autumn seems unfamiliar but interesting to us today. In addition, there are many dishes of which name we have never heard, such as Nobisongpyeon eaten in February, Jehotang eaten in May, and Nanrohoe, a seasonal dish in October.

If you want to learn more about the food that your ancestors enjoyed every month in time for the season, let's read <Dongguksesigi>.

Editorial Dept.