SEOUL, February 12 (AJP) - Bowing to elders and tossing wooden sticks across a board game mat, children are rehearsing the rituals of Seollal before the holiday even begins.
Across South Korea, traditional Lunar New Year experience programs are underway ahead of Seollal, offering young participants the chance to prelearn customs that once passed naturally from one generation to the next.
With the nation’s biggest holiday set for next week, cultural centers and heritage venues in cities including Seoul are hosting hands-on sessions focused on etiquette, attire and play.
Dressed in hanbok, Korea’s traditional clothing, children practice sebae — the formal New Year’s bow offered to elders. Instructors guide them through posture and phrasing, explaining that the gesture symbolizes respect and the wish for blessings in the year ahead.
They also gather around boards to play yutnori, a folk game traditionally enjoyed during Seollal. Throwing the four wooden sticks and moving their markers across the board, participants experience the festive atmosphere that typically fills family homes during the holiday.
Seollal, observed on the first day of the lunar calendar, marks the symbolic start of the year. Families reunite, perform ancestral rites, share traditional meals and exchange well-wishes for health and prosperity.
For many children, these workshops serve as a quiet rehearsal — ensuring that when the real holiday arrives, the bow feels natural, the game familiar and the meaning understood.
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