SEOUL, Feb. 5 (Korea Bizwire) – Jeju city recently held a Tamna Ipchun festival, a traditional celebration to celebrate the first arrival of spring, and wish for good fortune for the rest of the year, at Jeju Mokgwana, a historic Joseon Dynasty government office site in Jeju.The festival included a gut, a ritual performed by Korean shamans, and a parade of a pungmulpae, a Korean folk band, with a paper lantern shaped as Jacheongbi, the goddess of bountiful harvest appearing in Jeju’s folk tales.
The traditional East Asian lunar calendar is divided into 24 terms, and the first term marks the arrival of spring. The term is called ‘Ipchun’ in Korea, and is celebrated among Koreans eager to welcome a hint of spring after a long winter. The first day of the Ipchun term in 2015 was February 4.
Image Credit: Yonhap / photonews@koreabizwire.com