Koreans celebrate Ipchun (입춘/立春) on February 4th this year. The traditional East Asian Calendar calendars divide a year into 24 jeolki (절기/節氣) or solar terms. Ipchun is the first jeolki which marks the arrival of spring.
Ipchuncheop at a cafe (Instagram: @dubstepww)
A handwritten poster of greetings is usually pasted on the doors during Ipchun. The posters are known as “Ipchuncheop (입춘첩/立春帖)” in Korean. Common phrases used are “立春大吉 (입춘대길/ip-chun-dae-gil)”, and “建陽多慶 (건양다경/geon-yang-da-gyeong)”.
Although this day marks the first day of Spring, most areas of Korea is brutally cold due to cold wave. The nation’s capital was at -14 °C in the morning. Seoul is under cold wave advisory. Other cities of Korea reached below 0°C.
This can be describe with the Korean phrase “‘춘래불사춘(春來不似春)’, which means despite the arrival of spring, the weather remain cold.
Ipchun Cold weather (Osen)
Stay warm if you are currently in Korea!
