The event "Jeongwol Daeboreum, Seeing Full Moon from Changgyeonggung Palace" on Feb. 22 began at Changgyeonggung Palace in Seoul's Jongno-gu District, featuring a full moon sculpture around the monument Punggidae. (Yonhap News)

By Aisylu Akhmetzianova

Jeongwol Daeboreum, or the day of the first full moon of the lunar new year, falls on Jan. 15 of the lunar calendar.

From ancient times, Koreans on this day prayed for a good harvest and health under the first full moon of the lunar calendar's first month. Families gathered to eat ogokbap (five-grain rice), namul (seasoned vegetables) and yaksik (sweet rice with dried fruit and nuts), drink gwibalgisul (ear-sharpening rice wine), and play traditional games such as juldarigi (tug-of-war), jwibulnori (creating light streaks by swinging cans with burning items) and ganggangsullae (circle dance).

On Feb. 24, the country will hold events to mark the annual occasion.

The National Folk Museum of Korea in Seoul's Jongno-gu District will offer a class on crafting badges and magnets that resemble a full moon. Visitors can also play traditional games like jegichagi (kicking a shuttlecock), paengi chigi (spinning a top) and tuho (pitch-pot) from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

At 1 p.m. will be a byeotgaritdae, or a ceremony for erecting a pole filled with bags of grain, followed by traditional performing arts at 3 p.m.

Changgyeonggung Palace in Seoul's Jongno-gu District on Feb. 22 opened "Jeongwol Daeboreum, Seeing Full Moon from Changgyeonggung Palace," a four-day event featuring a full moon structure around the monument Punggidae within the royal palace.

On the day of the first full moon of the lunar year from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., visitors can see the full moon, Jupiter and winter constellations at a large greenhouse.

Byeotgaritdae, a traditional ceremony to erect a pole filled with bags of grain, ties the bottom of a bundle of rice straw, wraps grains such as rice, barley, foxtail millet, proso millet, sorghum, beans and red beans in it, and raises the pole in a yard to pray for a good harvest. (National Folk Museum of Korea)

Samcheok, Gangwon-do Province, from Feb. 23-25 will host this year's Samcheok Full Moon Festival at Samcheok Expo Square and Samcheok Beach under the theme "United Under the Full Moon's Light at National Treasure Jukseoru Pavilion." On Feb. 24 from 7 p.m., a nighttime torchlight tug-of-war event will be held for the first time on the beach's white sands, followed an hour later by daljip taeugi (burning a moon house).

The burning of the nation's largest daljip (moon house), with a height of 15 m and width of 10 m, is also slated that day by Cheongdocheon Stream in Cheongdo-gun County, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province. On Jeju Island at 6:30 p.m., Jeju Starlight World Park & Planetarium will host a full moon viewing using an astronomical telescope.

Those interested in attending these events should check ahead if those outdoors are rescheduled or canceled due to weather conditions.

aisylu@korea.kr