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Next: 7 to 9 Feb 2027

Seollal

Children in hanbok with rainbow-striped sleeves, and a bowl of white rice-cake soup for a clean start to the year.

Korea Traditional Game, Tuho
Photo: Kang Byeong Kee, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The colours of Seollal

Seollal is the Korean Lunar New Year. Families dress in hanbok, the traditional dress, to bow to their elders. Children's hanbok often has saekdong sleeves, bands of red, yellow, blue, green and white sewn side by side. The stripes draw on obangsaek, the five colours of Korean tradition, which stand for the five directions and elements and are thought to bring a child balance and protection. Adults may choose softer colours, with a bright jeogori jacket over a full skirt. The food of the morning is tteokguk, a clear soup of sliced white rice cakes. Its whiteness is said to stand for a clean, bright beginning, and eating it makes you one year older.

#D62839Saekdong redOne of the five colours striped on children’s sleeves.
#F5C518Saekdong yellowThe centre, among the five directions.
#1F6FB5Saekdong blueThe east, among the five directions.
#2E9B5BSaekdong greenOften added to the five in sleeve stripes.
#FAF9F2Tteok whiteRice-cake soup for a clean new year.

Values are fair approximations, not official shades.

Read about the colours

WhiteA fresh start; the rice cakes.RedOne of the five cardinal colours.BlueOne of the five cardinal colours.
About this page

Written by the Rang desk with AI assistance. Background: "Korean New Year" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from family to family and place to place. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.

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