Korea & the World
Why the world is drawn to Korea now — the cultural and spiritual roots behind the wave.
- What Is Dongji? Korea's Winter Solstice and Red Bean Porridge Dongji is Korea's winter solstice, December 22 in 2026. Families cook red bean porridge and call the longest night the little new year. Here is why.
- What Is Jesa? Korean Ancestral Rites and the Charye Table Jesa is the Korean rite of setting a table for one's ancestors. Here is what happens, how holiday charye differs from gije, and what the table is for.
- How Was Hangul Created? The Heaven, Earth, Human Design Behind It Hangul's vowels are drawn as heaven, earth and human. The Dangun Segi says a Dangun had 38 letters made in 2181 BCE. Read both on Hangul Day.
- What Is a Sotdae? Korea's Bird Poles and the Sacred Ground Called Sodo A sotdae is Korea's bird-topped village pole. Behind it stands the sodo, and behind the sodo, the Budo that Dangun built for the whole world.
- What Is Gaecheonjeol? Korea's National Foundation Day, October 3 Gaecheonjeol, October 3, is Korea's Opening of Heaven Day — and Korea's own chronicles say what opened was not a kingdom, but heaven, 1,565 years earlier.
- Why Did Koreans Wear White? The Meaning of the "White-Clad People" Koreans were called the white-clad people. The oldest Korean account traces that white not to cloth but to a handful of grass, and to a vow.
- What Were Korea's Oldest Festivals? Yeonggo, Dongmaeng, and Mucheon Yeonggo, Dongmaeng and Mucheon were Korea's oldest festivals — held in the tenth month, led by the ruler himself, and ending in drums and circle dancing.
- Why Does Korea Have So Many Dolmens? Korea holds roughly 40% of the world's dolmens. How many there are, what the stones were built for, and the rule their shape follows.
- What Is Chuseok, Korea's Harvest Full Moon? Chuseok is Korea's harvest festival, held on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month. Here is what it is, what the name means, and what it grew out of.