Beth Salerno

Happy New Year 2009

December 31, 2008 Author: Beth Salerno

Last year on this day, Tod and I celebrated by watching tv.  Drumming teams pounded out a rocking version of the traditional Korean folk tune Arirang.  Dancers swirled in brightly colored hanbok (tight bolero jackets for women with full, flouncing highwaisted silk skirts; long front-closing jackets for men over loose fitting trousers, tied at the ankles).  Ordinary Koreans, foreign residents and tourists packed Jonngak Square, the Korean equivalent of Times Square in New York, as traffic was redirected from one of the busiest corners in Seoul.  Celebrities counted down the final seconds of 2007, the numbers some of the few words I understood in the broadcast.  Officials lined up to swing a huge dragon clapper, striking a huge ancient bell to ring in the New Year.  We fell asleep to the sound of continued celebrations in nearby apartments - people playing guitar, striking gongs, laughing.

Our celebration will be far less exotic this year, and will likely be preceded by some serious snow-shoveling, an activity I never missed while in Korea.  However you celebrate, may 2009 bring you all good things - and the chance to explore and enjoy something new and unfamiliar.

Entry Filed under: living abroad, Tod's visit, Culture