May, A Month Filled With Family-Oriented Holidays

May is deep in the heart of spring. With increasingly warm temperatures and plenty of holidays, May is one of our favorite months.

In South Korea, many of the designated holidays and observances in May are connected to family. The month is therefore known as "Family Month."

We will take a closer look at the holidays in May and how Koreans like to celebrate them. Let's go!

 May 5: Children's Day
어린이날

Children's Day was established in 1923 to honor and promote the happiness of children.

It is a national holiday, and families can enjoy a day off to spend at home or go out to play!

Source: Encyclopedia of Korean Folk Culture

Children's Day was established in Korea by children's book author Bang Jeong-Hwan in hopes that children and their dreams would be more respected.

Apparently, this is also when the word "children" (어린이) that is used in Korea today was created.

The word was created by combining a word meaning "low age" (어린) with a suffix that means person (이).

Before the creation of this new word, there was no proper word for '"child" in Korean. Most words used to refer to children were often derogatory. With the new word 어린이, there was finally a way to refer to children in a respectful manner.

When Children's Day was first established, children's rights were not properly protected.

On the first Children's Day in 1923, people would take to the streets with the words "Stop swearing! Stop hitting! Stop making them work!". This slogan tells us just how badly protected children were at the time.

That's why in the past, Children's Day was considered a day to highlight the rights of children.

Source: dt news

However, these days Children's Day is more of a happy event for children than a human rights event. It's a day when children get to be the center of attention.

Events for children are held both at schools and other places throughout the country!

Source: The Chosun Ilbo

Families with children will often head out to play in the warm spring weather.

Many families pay a visit to amusement parks such as Children's Grand Park or Lotte World.

Source: Yonhap News

Needless to say, amusement parks can get extremely crowded on Children's Day. You might have to wait up to 4 hours for popular rides! Children can be seen waiting in lines impatiently, breaking down into tears out of boredom.

Worried about the crowds of people, many families opt to avoid amusement parks on Children's Day. Instead, they will go the day before or the day after. Ironically, some years, amusement parks have been less crowded on the actual holiday.

This phenomenon is popularly called 'The Big Nunchi Game' - 'nunchi' (눈치) being a word used to describe a person's ability to read other people's feelings or actions!

Source: Tycoon Post

On Children's Day, it is also common to give children presents. Expecting new toys, most children in Korea eagerly await May. For some, it's almost like a second birthday!

Source: Kyungbok Ilbo

You are usually considered a child in Korea until the age of 12. When you turn 13, you are considered a youth.

This age also coincides with the sixth and last year of elementary school. Once Koreans start middle school, their expectations for the holiday will dwindle, and it becomes just a day when you don't have to go to school.

May 8: Parents' Day
어버이날

A day dedicated to parents! Parents' Day provides an opportunity for children to express their gratitude and love towards their parents.

Parents' Day has been observed in South Korea since May 8th, 1956. Many other countries celebrate Mother's Day and Father's Day separately, but in Korea, both mothers and fathers are celebrated on the same day.

In fact, May 8th was originally designated as Mother's Day. But, since there wasn't a Father's Day, in 1973 they decided to make things fair by changing it to Parents' Day instead!

Unlike Children's Day, Parents' Day is not a public holiday in Korea. However, it is widely observed. Most celebrate their parents with gifts and letters.

Carnation

Carnation flowers are a symbol for Parents' Day, therefore the most common gift.

Typically, carnations are gifted as bouquets and/or flower pots, but there are also other forms these flowers can take!

Source: Youtube channel 꼼이접이tv

For example, you can make an Origami carnation flower!

Most Koreans have folded a couple of these during their childhood. Usually, children get to fold them at school to bring back to their parents.

Source: BTS Twitter

Recently, many children make carnation headbands to turn themselves into carnations.

There is also a plethora of different accessories in the shape of carnations, some cute and some more luxurious.

Other gifts are more practical, like carnation-embroidered frames, or soap and candles shaped like carnations!

Children will often give carnations accessories in the morning and pin them on their parents' lapels. This way, parents can show off their carnation gifts during the day.

However, the popularity of carnations has decreased in recent years. Sales have declined by half, although prices have steadily increased.

Many seem to prefer giving practical things instead of flowers. Rather than giving the same gift every year, you can surprise your parents by preparing something else.

Money

So, what can you give your parents instead of carnation flowers?

An SK Telecom survey with data from 2016 to 2018 found that money was overwhelmingly ranked first.

This seems to indicate that indeed, money is king!

Source: YouTube Channel 솔라시도

But just handing over money lacks sophistication and sincerity.

Instead, many will make money bouquets or cakes out of bills. Mamamoo Solar posted a video of how she made a money cake for her parents on her Youtube channel!

Source: SSG

By turning a much-appreciated monetary gift into a beautifully shaped cake or a bouquet, it's like killing two birds with one stone!

Gifts are great and all, but what is even more important is to show your sincerity and love. Words of appreciation coming from your heart is the best present that any parent could wish for.

May 15: Teacher's Day
스승의 날

On May 15th, Koreans pay their respects and gratitude to their teachers.

Source: Maeil Business Newspaper (매일 경제)

May 15 is the birthday of King Sejong, the Joseon King who created the Korean writing system Hangul.

When King Sejong first created Hangul, he named it hunminjeongum (훈민정음) which means the "correct sound for the instruction of the people."

In other words, by creating Hangul, King Sejong became the teacher of all Koreans. That's why his birthday was picked as Teacher's Day.

Source: X-sport News

On this day, students often throw a surprise party for their teachers.

The party is not an official school event, and students voluntarily choose to surprise their teachers. Usually, the class representative will be in charge of this joyous event.

Source: ytn

Students will compile some money to buy party supplies, and they arrive early to school to decorate their classroom.

Usually, they decorate the classroom with balloons along with messages and drawings on the classroom board.

When their teacher arrives, the students often present a cake with carnations on it. Sometimes they even collaborate to prepare a small present.

However, the Kim Young-Ran Act passed in 2015 considers gifts of 30,000 won or more to public servants as an improper solicitation. Recently, teachers have not been able to accept paper-made carnations or even eat cakes prepared by their students.

It may seem like an overly harsh law, but there is a good reason for it. Before passing the law, there had been many cases of teachers receiving expensive gifts on Teacher's Day as a way of bribing them.

So these days, students express their gratitude by writing letters rather than buying gifts.

May is here, and in this blog, we took a look at major holidays and observations that take place during "Family Month."

We are already pondering on what gift to surprise our parents with for Parents' Day! Do you all have any innovative ideas?