Happy New Year!!
새해 복 많이 받으세요!!
This year is the year of the white cow.
I have had my fortune told recently, welcoming new year, 2021!!
You almost got it! I would like to talk about Chinese Zodiac which is 12지신 in Korean.
Some people may not be familiar with Chinese Zodiac. The Chinese zodiac is a classification scheme based on the lunar calendar that assigns an animal and its reputed attributes to each year in a repeating 12-year cycle.
In Korea, we just call ‘12지신’
’12 지신’, it was originating from China, the zodiac and its variations remain popular in many East Asian and Southeast Asian countries, such as Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand. That’s interesting!
What is more interesting is that there are 12 Chinese zodiac signs, in the following order;
Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig.
It is symbolic. Each sign is named after an animal, and each animal has its own unique characteristics.
Something similar with Western astrology!
In modern Western astrology, the signs of the zodiac are believed to represent twelve basic personality types or characteristic modes of expression. The twelve signs are divided into four elements fire, earth, air and water.
Don’t Western astrology and Korean Zodiac have some similarities?
Identifying this scheme using the generic term "zodiac" reflects several superficial similarities to the Western zodiac: both have time cycles divided into 12 parts, each labels at least the majority of those parts with names of animals, and each is widely associated with a culture of ascribing a person's personality or events in their life to the supposed influence of the person's particular relationship to the cycle. But there are some differences between the two.
The animals of the Chinese zodiac are not associated with constellations spanned by the ecliptic plane. The Chinese 12-part cycle corresponds to years, rather than months.
The Chinese zodiac is represented by 12 animals, whereas some of the signs in the Western zodiac are not animals, despite the implication of the etymology of the English word zodiac, meaning "cycle or circle of little animals".
Is there any difference between Chinese Zodiac and Korean zodiac?
There is but not many. The Korean zodiac is mostly identical to the Chinese one. The lunar calendar was the basis of Korean life in the past and also now, holidays/celebratory events are based on the moon’s cycles.
The years were represented by animals that followed each other in an established order repeated every 12 years. In Korea, when someone asks about your sign, they are not only getting a sense of your personality as people in the West do with signs of the zodiac, they are also working out your age.
I think every year, many Korean have their fortune teller told like horoscope which is using the Four Pillars and the Eight Characters (for the year, month, day and hour of one's birth)
How can we say ‘What is your Zodiac sign animal?’ in Korean?
It would say, “무슨 띠예요?”
띠 in this context is Zodiac sign here.
(We also count 관상, too, woah it is so many...)
'Korean culture' 카테고리의 다른 글
| Kimchi, Korean traditional food not Chinese food (0) | 2021.02.13 |
|---|---|
| 설날, Solnal, Korean new year (0) | 2021.02.06 |
| K-pop 한류, BTS (0) | 2020.12.21 |
| K-drama hit (0) | 2020.12.13 |
| Korea’s Ramen :) yum (0) | 2020.12.02 |
댓글