Season | Summer | ||||||||
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Period | 21 July 2021 (solar calendar) | ||||||||
Introduction | "Jungbok (中伏)," which literally means "middle dog day," is one of the three hottest summer days along with "Chobok" and "Malbok." It refers to the fourth Gyeong Day (庚日) after "Haji," the summer solstice. | ||||||||
Jungbok (中伏), Middle Dog Day "Jungbok" (中伏), which literally means "middle dog day," is one of the three hottest summer days along with "Chobok" and "Malbok." It refers to the fourth Gyeong Day (庚日) after "Haji," the summer solstice. Jungbok" is one of the three hottest summer days along with "Chobok" and "Malbok," which is the third Gyeong Day (庚日) after "Haji," or the summer solstice. The third Gyeong Day (庚日) after the summer solstice is "Chobok," and the first Gyeong Day after Ipchu is "Malbok" (末伏), and all three hot days are collectively referred to as the "Sambok" (三伏) or "Samgyeongil" (三庚日)," literally the "three Gyeong days."
According to an ancient belief, a "Bok" is a day when the forthcoming yin energy is suppressed by the yang energy. The Chinese character "bok" (伏), which takes the shape of a man lying like a dog, connotes that the descending "metal" (金) energy of autumn cannot withstand, and ultimately succumbs to, the still intense heat of summer. In other words, summer’s hot energy dominates autumn’s cool energy. In terms of the Five Elements, summer belongs to "fire" (火) and autumn to "metal" (金), so to deliver the meaning, "The metal energy of autumn succumbs three times to the fire energy of e summer," the three Bok days use the character (伏).
On Bok days, people customarily enjoyed eating dog soup called “Gaejangguk” and ginseng chicken soup called “Samgyetang.” Come “Bok,” people would go up to a secluded mountain, butcher a dog and eat boiled dog soup near a stream. This custom was called “Bokdarim” or “Boknori.” In Hamgyeong-do region, butchering a dog was called “Gaenoreum.” In addition, people ate red bean congee, Korean melons and watermelons believing that doing so would prevent heat stroke and disease. People ate dog meat on Bok day to overcome the heat and to heal and protect their body. |