Songpyeon and super moon

Chuseok holidays with a super moon in 18 years have come to an end and people are returning to their daily lives. Some might be concerned about the weight gained after carelessly enjoying songpyeon, Korea’s traditional rice cake, during the holidays. Some might have not been able to be with families due to financial reasons. But most of people in Northeast Asia might have wished good health and happiness for their families looking at the super moon. Korea’s Chuseok and China’s mid-autumn festival are holidays of the same type. In Japan, Aug. 15 in the solar calendar is the Bon festival, which is similar to Chuseok in Korea. Japanese people also view and enjoy a full moon on Aug. 15 in the lunar calendar.

Food that people share under a full moon varies depending on whether it is Korea, China or Japan. Korea’s songpyeon, which is steamed with pine needles, are shaped like a half moon. On the contrary, China’s moon cake and Japan’s tsukimi dango are round-shaped like a full moon. Western cakes are also originated from an ancient food devoted for sacrifices, which is round-shaped resembling the moon or the sun. In Chinese characters, songpyeon consists of letters meaning a pine tree and a rice cake, which means literally a pine tree rice cake. Neither its name nor its shape reminds of a full moon.

According to the chronicles of the three ancient states on the Korean Peninsula, ‘Baekje is a full moon and Shilla is the half-moon’ was written on the back of a turtle which was dug out from the Baekje’s palace during the reign of the King Uija. A fortune-teller interpreted this that Baekje would go downhill and Shilla would go prosper. Since then, people in Shilla started making the half-moon shaped rice cakes, which have become the current songpyeon. As Chuseok is originated from Shilla’s ‘Gabe’ festival, it is a reasonable explanation about the origination of songpyeon. In Joseon dynasty, people who had cultural toadyism toward China compared songpyeon not with China’s moon cake but with Zongzi, which Chinese eat on the fifth day of the fifth month in the lunar calendar. It makes us think about the nation’s power reflected in songpyeon.

The ‘sampo generation,’ meaning young people who give up dating, marriage and childbirth for economic reasons, may feel uncomfortable throughout the Chuseok holidays. Since some time ago, it is regarded as impolite to ask a young family member such questions as ‘when will you marry?’ or ‘which job did you land?’ Even without verbal questions, curious eyes may work as pressure for the young people who give up three valuable things in their lives for economic reasons. I wish the ‘sampo generation’ would live an abundant life like a full moon, by making up for their lacks instead of being frustrated with the current difficulties. The half-moon shaped songpyeon gives us a hope for the future that a full moon would come.

eligius@donga.com