* Topic: Jeju Fire Festival (제주들불축제)

* Writer: West Bengal Team 4: Members- (Soumi, Tithi, Srotoswini, Torsa)

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Jeju Fire Festival (제주들불축제)

During the first full moon after the lunar New Year in the Korean calendar, for three days in each year, there is a Fire Festival held in Jeju Island (제주도) . The Fire Festival is called Jeongwol Daeboruem Fire festival (제주들불축제), which is celebrated as a very unique holiday in Korea. (1)

Jeongwol Daeboreum is a ceremony to pray for good health and an abundant harvest for the year. An anticipated event which is attended not only by the residents of Jeju but also by people across Korea and international tourists as well, as the event is filled with fun, traditional games, food, and cultural activities which are held in the natural beauty of Jeju Island.

• Origin:

The Jeju Fire Festival is said to be a festival that has the traditional culture and modern developed culture intertwined into a harmony for the sake of sensibility in the environment by removing pests and old grass. This traditional festival has the interesting cattle culture as a source of the festival, called Bangae (방애). Through this festival, the culture of Bangae has been introduced to the foreigners as well. (2)

Bangae is a tradition to set fire in the fields between late winter and early spring of each village. This is to get rid of old grass and pests in the grassland area amidst the mountains for grazing of cattle and horses.(2)

• History:

This festival started as the ‘Jeongwol Daeboreum Fire Festival’ in 1997. It changed to its current name (제주들불축제) from the 16th in 2013. It is held every year at Saebyeol Oreum (새별오름) on the weekend. (3)

•Saebyeol Oreum (새별오름) The main festival site:

Jeju Fire festival has been taking place between Naepeup-ri, Aewol-eup, Jeju-si, and Deokcheon-ri, Gujwa-eup since 1997. From 2000, Saebyeol Oreum (새별오름) has been chosen as the main festival site. Saebyeol Oreum is the most famous volcanic cone in the West among the populated mountainous volcanic cones in the western part of which there are many volcanic cones such as Barimeoreum, Nuunoreum, Dangoreum, and Geumoreum. (3).Saebyeol Oreum is called by this name because as per the Korean Folklore the name means 'shines like the morning star in the evening sky'. The extended view of Saebyeol Oreum emerges as the only unique area in the midst of Jeju mountainous areas. Saebyeol Oreum, with an elevation of 519.3m, height of 119m, circumference of 2713m, and area of 522,216m2, stands like a horseshoe-shaped crater and is the medium scale among the 360 oreums (오름) on Jeju Island. (4)

• Events at the Fire Festival:

The main event of the Fire festival begins with a torch relay, which moves across the length of the island. The relay ends when organizers set ablaze a huge, 82-acres field of oreum (오름) which is a parasitic volcano.

Every year the Jeju Fire Festival organizers plan for different events to make this festival fun and attractive. The main highlights include the Fortune Pig and Duck Contest, in which participants chase pigs and ducks toward the finish line; tourists also get to see traditional Korean jump roping; attaching a wish paper to a pheasant and setting it free; and the deumdol competition, in which contestants carry a 130-kilogram circular stone as far as they can. Long ago on Jeju Island, the deumdol competition was a traditional ceremony to mark adulthood. The competition is open to visitors, island residents, and town representatives. There are different weight categories for this competition. (5)

• Main attractions of this festival:

1.Burning the moon house:

This festival’s main attraction is the burning of the daljip (달집태우기) During this festival, participants built daljip (Kor. 달집, or moon house), a large bonfire structure, with fresh branches of a pine tree and other logs, and set it on fire with the rise of the full moon, praying for fortune and prevention from evil. (6) Other than these fire-related ceremonies, many outdoor activities are offered to visitors, helping them to enjoy the beautiful natural surroundings of Jeju Island, such as horseback riding, trekking and flying kites. There are also additional attractions such as the ‘spinning-can event’ (children spin blazing cans), the laser show, and the fireworks show in the evening sky. (7)

2.Jwibulnori:

Jwibulnori (Korean: 쥐불놀이) is a Korean game in which participants create streaks of light by swinging cans filled with burning items. The game is played during the first full moon of the year in the lunar calendar, which is a national holiday in Korea. It is played during the time when fires are started on farmlands to exterminate harmful insects and rats by burning away their habitat. Another purpose of the game is to wish for good health. (8)

• Special food for this festival:

During Daeboreum, the most famous food tradition is eating Bureom (부럼). On the morning of Jeongwol Daeboreum, Bureom is eaten usually. This is a mixture of nuts including walnuts, peanuts, chestnuts, and ginggko nuts. The nuts are presented with their shells intact, as Koreans crack the shells with their teeth. This ritual is said to promote healthy teeth and prevent skin boils, as well as brings good luck. Although traditionally Koreans are meant to crack a number of nuts equal to their age (so a 25-year -old would need to crack 25 nuts), people now normally only crack two or three nuts open. (9)

Traditional breakfast food at Jeongwol Daeboreum occasion is seasoned vegetables (such as eggplant, mushrooms, and squash) and Ogokbap (오곡밥), which translates to ‘five-grain rice’. This is five types of grains, cooked and mixed together with dried herbs. Koreans often cook this early, so that they can share their dishes with friends and neighbors, as it’s believed that this will bring prosperity in the coming year. (10)

The main beverage of this ceremony is Gwibalgisul, which means ‘ear-sharpening wine’. Gwibalgisul is also known under Sino-Korean names including imyeongju and ichongju. This is a shot of chilled rice liquor, and drinking it is believed to sharpen your hearing and bring good news to your ears all year. Although younger generation don’t tend to drink the shot, parents will often dab a drop of liquor on their lips to include them in the custom. (11)

• 2022 Jeju Fire Festival:

Post Covid-19 The 24th Jeju Fire Festival was supposed to be held between 18th March 2022 to 20th March 2022. However, this year the festival has been cancelled to mourn over the situation in which the Uljin wildfire has spread into a national disaster and to share the pain of the national wildfire disaster. (12)

•Awards and excellence:

The Jeju Fire Festival was selected by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, and got awarded by the title of a promising festival for eight consecutive years from 2006 to 2014, an excellent festival for four consecutive years from 2015 to 2018, and the best festival in 2019. (13)

References

1.https://www.korea.net/Events/Festivals/view?articleId=3076

2.https://www.visitjeju.net/kr/detail/view?contentsid=CNTS_000000000021916

3.https://www.visitjeju.net/kr/detail/view?contentsid=CONT_000000000500309

4.https://www.visitjeju.net/kr/detail/view?contentsid=CNTS_000000000021916

5.https://www.korea.net/Events/Festivals/view?articleId=3076

6.https://folkency.nfm.go.kr/en/topic/detail/3554

7.https://www.korea.net/Events/Festivals/view?articleId=7810

8.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jwibulnori

9.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureom

10.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogok-bap

11.https://folkency.nfm.go.kr/en/topic/detail/3335

12.https://www.visitjeju.net/kr/detail/view?contentsid=CNTS_000000000021916

13.https://m.visitjeju.net/en/detail/view?contentsid=CNTS_000000000021916#:~:text=The%20Jeju%20Fire%20Festival%20has,of%20the%20Year%20Grand%20Prize.

* Topic: Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival

(화천산천어축제)

* Writer: West Bengal Team 4: Members- (Srotoswini, Tithi, Soumi, Torsa)

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Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival 

(화천산천어축제)

For centuries, one of the indispensable part of the Korean culture has been fishing. This can be clearly observed by the huge variety of popular seafood delicacies available throughout the country. One of the major hotspots for fishing enthusiasts is the Gangwon-do Province, where over a dozen fishing villages are present. So even the sub-zero temperatures of December to March, with frozen lakes and water bodies could not stop fishing lovers as they found a new pastime in ice-fishing. [1] Every January,

Hwacheon-gun (화천군), a quaint part of the Gangwon-do Province gathers millions of visitors, both local and international even at a temperature as low as minus ten degree Celsius.[2][3] This is because the Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival is held there every year, which has been titled as the world's four major winter festivals. This festival even has its own brand slogan, as "Hwacheon, Korea's No. 1 winter festival."[2]

• History:

Every winter, as the Hwacheoncheon Stream, located in Hwacheon-gun, Gangwon-do freezes completely, it becomes the premise for this popular festival. The highlights of this event include carving holes in the ice and fishing for Sancheoneo (산천어) (Masou salmon), which gave the festival its name. [4] Sancheoneo, also known as ‘queen of valley’ is a very pretty and nutritious fish, which has various health benefits especially for high blood pressure. This native fish is a fresh water salmoniformes salmonidae fish, which is known to be found only in the cleanest and freshest of waters. [5]

• Origin:

This fun filled festival was launched in 2003 and since then it has now become the most popular winter festival in South Korea. in 2007, the Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival gained popularity and was selected as an up-and coming festival, and in 2008 it was chosen as the excellent festival. After that since 2010, for four consecutive years this festival won the title of the best festival. In 2011 it was even introduced by CNN as one of the "Seven Winter Wonders" following which the festival saw a surge in international visitors. [2][6][7] Since 2014, the title of "Korea's premier festival" has been given to the Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival for the fifth consecutive year. In 2019, the festival saws over 130,000 international visitors. As a premier festival for five consecutive years, since 2019 the Ice Festival has been selected as a "global promotion festival" by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. [2]

• Main attraction:

The main attraction of the Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival is the Sancheoneo fishing, which is usually can be done by directly ice fishing on the frozen stream, lure fishing in the flowing waters, or by bare-hand fishing in a pool.[4] The visitors are allowed to catch up to three fish. [1] If someone fails to catch fish in the daytime, they can also opt for night time fishing. [2] After catching fish, it is collected in a bucket near the exit so that a massive outdoor barbeque can be arranged. [1] A designated spot is maintained for cooking the fish and eating, where people enjoy both roasted or sliced raw trout.[6] Hand fishing is also very popular among the locals, where people go down in the freezing waters to catch fish directly with their hands. [1]

• Famous activities:

Besides fishing, a core part of the Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival are Snow and ice activities like ice sledging, ice soccer, curling, bobsleigh, winter trekking, creative sled contest etc. [2][4] Beside all these, for the adventure loving visitors, a zipline is set up over the frozen waters. [4] The excitement of the festival can be felt and observed all-over the town of Hwacheon. Even before the start of the festival, the entire area is beautifully decorated by Sancheoneo-shaped lanterns made from hanji paper, and the beautiful displays of LED lights at the Lantern Street Festival and light tunnels. [2][4] Beside this the Hwacheoneo Cinema displays the world’s largest indoor ice sculpture plaza, by displaying intricately designed large-scale ice sculptures. [4] Other parts of the festivities include set ups of traditional Korean folk games and a photo zone, food stalls selling fish items, both raw and fried, tteokbokki (stir-fried rice cake), fish cakes, and other sweet and savoury fritters etc. [4]

• Reference:

1.https://www.korea.net/NewsFocus/HonoraryReporters/view?article Id=167201

2.https://www.koreapost.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=10516

3.https://www.korea.net/NewsFocus/FoodTravel/view?articleId=1672 39

4.https://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/ATR/SI_EN_3_6.jsp?cid=15471 31

5.https://www.narafestival.com/ice_eng/?lang=eng&f_code=01_05

6.https://www.korea.net/NewsFocus/FoodTravel/view?articleId=1534 58

7.https://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/ATR/SI_EN_3_2_1.jsp?cid=685 135

1. Topic: Hanbok (हानबोक)

2. Writer: WBT3 (Hindi Sub Team 2: Suparna, Vaishali, Ritoja, Shirsha)

3. Short Explanation: We created a Wikipedia page on 'Hanbok' in Hindi. The hanbok (in South Korea) or Chosŏn-ot (in North Korea) is the traditional Korean clothes. The term "hanbok" literally means "Korean clothing". The hanbok can be traced back to the Three Kingdoms of Korea period (1st century BC–7th century AD), with roots in the peoples of what is now northern Korea and Manchuria. Early forms of hanbok can be seen in the art of Goguryeo tomb murals in the same period, with the earliest mural paintings dating to the 5th century. From this time, the basic structure of the hanbok consisted of the jeogori jacket, baji pants, chima skirt, and the po coat. The basic structure of hanbok was designed to facilitate ease of movement and integrated many motifs of shamanistic nature. These basic structural features of the hanbok remain relatively unchanged to this day. However, present days hanbok which is worn nowadays is patterned after the hanbok worn in the Joseon dynasty.

4. Link: Hanbok (हानबोक)

1. Topic: Korean currency (कोरियाई मुद्रा)

2. Writer: WBT3 (Hindi Sub Team 1: Sanskriti, Bharti, Nisha, Nikhil)

3. Short Explanation: We created a Wikipedia page on 'Korean currency' in Hindi. Korean currency dates back as far as the Goryeo dynasty (918–1392) when the first coins were minted. The coins, cast in both bronze and iron, were called tongbo and jungbo. Additionally, silver vases called ŭnbyŏng were widely used and circulated as a currency among the aristocracy of Goryeo. It was not until the beginning of the Joseon period that copper coins called mun were minted for wide circulation. Jeohwa (저화), which was made of standardized mulberry-bark paper early in the Joseon period, become the first legal paper money and was used as a medium of exchange in place of coins until it disappeared in the early 16th century. 

4. Link: Korean currency (कोरियाई मुद्रा)

1. Topic: Gwangju Uprising (ग्वांगजू विद्रोह)

2. Writer: WBT3 (Hindi Team 2: Shirsha, Ritoja, Vaishali, Suparna)

3. Short Explanation: We created a Wikipedia page on 'Gwangju Uprising' in Hindi. The Gwangju Uprising was a popular uprising in the city of Gwangju, South Korea, from May 18 to May 27, 1980, which pitted local, armed citizens against soldiers and police of the South Korean government. The event is sometimes called 5·18 (May 18; Korean: 오일팔), in reference to the date the movement began. The uprising is also known as the Gwangju Democratization Struggle, the Gwangju Massacre, the May 18 Democratic Uprising, or the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement.

4. Link: Gwangju Uprising (ग्वांगजू विद्रोह)

1. Topic: Korean mythology (কোরিয়ান পুরাকথা)

2. Writer: WBT3 ( Bengali Sub Team 1: Susmita, Rupam, Adrija, Debanjana)

3. Short Explanation: We created a Wikipedia page on 'Korean mythology' in Bengali. Korean mythology is the group of myths told by historical and modern Koreans. There are two types: the written, literary mythology in traditional histories, mostly about the founding monarchs of various historical kingdoms, and the much larger and more diverse oral mythology, mostly narratives sung by shamans or priestesses (mansin) in rituals invoking the gods and which are still considered sacred today. 

4. Link: Korean mythology (কোরিয়ান পুরাকথা)  

1. Topic: Korean shamanism (কোরিয়ান শামানবাদ)

2. Writer: WBT3 (Bengali Sub Team 2: Sreetama, Susmita, Sayantika)

3. Short Explanation: We created a Wikipedia page on 'Korean shamanism' in Bengali. Korean shamanism or Korean folk religion is an animistic ethnic religion of Korea that dates back to prehistory and consists of the worship of gods (신 shin) and ancestors (조상 josang) as well as nature spirits. Hanja: 巫俗; musog or musok), the term Muism (Hangul:무속신앙; musok shinang) is also used. Korean shamanism has been influenced by Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. 

4. Link: Korean shamanism (কোরিয়ান শামানবাদ) 

1. Topic: Korean painting (कोरियाई चित्रकला)

2. Writer: WBT3 (Hindi Sub Team 1: Nisha, Nikhil, Bharti, Sankriti)

3. Short Explanation: We created a Wikipedia page on 'Korean painting' in Hindi. Korean painting includes paintings made in Korea or by overseas Koreans on all surfaces. The earliest surviving Korean paintings are murals in the Goguryeo tombs, of which considerable numbers survive, the oldest from some 2,000 years ago (mostly now in North Korea), with varied scenes including dancers, hunting, and spirits. 

4. Link: Korean painting (कोरियाई चित्रकला)

1. Topic: Education in South Korea (দক্ষিণ কোরিয়ায় শিক্ষাব্যাবস্থা)

2. Writer: WBT3 (Bengali Sub Team 1: Debanjana, Adrija, Rupam, Susmita)

3. Short Explanation: We created a Wikipedia page on 'Education in South Korea' in Bengali. Education in South Korea is provided by both public schools and private schools. Both types of schools receive funding from the government, although the amount that the private schools receive is less than the amount of the state schools. South Korea is one of the top-performing OECD countries in reading literacy, mathematics, and sciences with the average student scoring about 519, compared with the OECD average of 493, placing it ninth in the world. The country has one of the world's highest-educated labor forces among OECD countries. 

4. Link: Education in South Korea (দক্ষিণ কোরিয়ায় শিক্ষাব্যাবস্থা) 

1. Topic: Heo Hwang-ok (হ হোয়াং-ওক)

2. Writer: WBT3 (Bengali Sub Team 2: Susmita, Sayantika, Sreetama)

3. Short Explanation: We created a Wikipedia page on 'Heo Hwang-ok ' in Bengali. Heo Hwang-ok is a legendary Queen mentioned in Samguk Yusa, a 13th-century Korean chronicle. According to Samguk Yusa, she became the wife of King Suro of Geumgwan Gaya at the age of 16, after having arrived by boat from a distant kingdom called "Ayuta"; making her the first Queen of Geumgwan Gaya. More than six million present-day Koreans, especially from Gimhae Kim, Heo and Lee clans, trace their lineage to the legendary Queen as the direct descendants of her 12 children with King Suro. Her native kingdom is believed to be located in India. There is a tomb in Gimhae, South Korea, that is believed to be hers, and a memorial in Ayodhya, India.

4. Link: Heo Hwang-ok (হ হোয়াং-ওক)