We can't believe that it's been a year already, but I guess we should be too surprised.  Just stop to think about what has occurred in our lives since April 5, 2006: Sammy was born; we were then subjected to 3 months of non-stop crying (no joke) and therefore 3 months of absolutely no sleep; then we quit our jobs, sold just about everything we owned and moved to Korea; we have visited Chicago, Spent a weekend in North Korea, and another on a Korean island called Jeju; we have celebrated numerous special occasions with family and friends; we have explored our new environments; and we have learned a lot about each other, especially Sammy's burgeoning personality.

Now, at the 1 year mark, it's time to reflect on that time and look forward to further milestones is Sammy's development as well as our coming adventures as a family.

This milestone was celebrated physically with our family here in Korea with a very special birthday party and, of course, in spirit by those of you living away from us.

 

Why is 1 the Magic Number?

The first birthday is a very special occasion for Koreans.  It's place in Korean custom likely centers on the depressing reality that babies often didn't make it past the first year.  Being a year old, very practically indicated a marked improvement in their chance for survival.

I've been told that the modern traditions were forged in royal homes more than those of common Koreans.  However, over time, these traditions made their way into more and more Korean homes.  I am going to describe these traditions to you, but you must understand that I am working off of a limited knowledgebase that is both rife with holes and potentially dead wrong :)

 

Common Traditions for the First Birthday

Of course I'm no expert in this area.  I've only been to one other first birthday party, but I've informally interviewed about 30 students on the topic.

Just like weddings across America, no two first birthday parties are exactly the same.  However, I can talk about commonalities.

 It's traditional for participants (primarily child, mother, and father) to dress in hanbok (traditional Korean dress).  Sammy and Moon look lovely in theirs....I look out of place.

First birthday parties are commonly held (for those who can afford it) at restaurants, hotels, and conference centers.  The variety is great, ranging from mom & pop restaurants to 5 star bank breakers.  The food ranges from traditional to contemporary (read Korean to "Western").  The entertainment ranges from self-run to professionally organized affairs complete with party planners, D.J.s, clowns, and whatever cheesy addition that the cute, coupled social climbers can conjure up. 

Ok, so that's the variety.  Here is at least one tradition that is relatively standard.  The child is put behind a table holding a collection of duk (types of rice cake), fruit, and other delights (many of which are plastic these days). 

Then a set of items are placed in front of him or her to choose.  The choice of object is supposed to indicate your future career choice or simply fortune. 

1. Silk Thread - There is a bundle of silk thread.  This symbolizes a long life (long thread = long life).
2. Money - There is money (usually a bill).  This obviously symbolizes wealth.  This is the one that most participants at the party will try to get the child to choose.  I can't blame them.  While many choices promise a career (that will earn money), money IS money.
3. Rice - There is a bowl of rice.  This symbolizes a person who will be well-fed.  In the context of a people that have struggled to simply survive for so many years (not a representation of the current context) this is represents comfort and well-being.
4. Jujube - There is a bowl of jujubes.  This is not as common as the others given my interviews, however, nobody was surprised, so it can't be uncommon.  This symbolizes royalty or in our current times political life.  At least this is what my father-in-law says, but nobody else that I asked had any clue.
5. Book (and/or Pen) - There is a book or pen in most setups.  We had a book, but I wish that they had used a pen, Sammy would have liked that more.  This symbolizes an academic life, or the life of a scholar (I was hoping he wouldn't choose this).
6. Microphone - There was a Microphone.  Now I moved from 'is' to 'was' because I'm no longer referring to normal items.  These are some of the new, modern choices that are often up to the parents and, in our case, up to the folks we paid to set this thing up.  The microphone symbolizes entertainment or the life of an entertainer.
7. Computer Mouse - There was a computer mouse.  Believe it or not, I didn't want him to choose this one either.  This symbolizes a career in IT, or some people generalize it to mean a career in engineering or the sciences.

There are many other items that can be put on the table including stethoscope (medicine) or other engineering or science-specific items.  We were hoping to just get traditional items, but nobody could really tell me what was traditional.  Everyone I talked to said to add a computer mouse.  So, an item that's been around for a few decades is traditional in a history that spans over 5000 years!?  I run into this mindset quite often, which, while understandable, frustrates the researcher in me.

 

What Did We Do?

We went about half way down the middle here.  We went to a nice restaurant nearby our apartment.  Jahamun (http://www.jahamun.com) serves traditional Korean food, provided us with a private room, and arranged to bring in all of the table items.  The menu consisted of a number of courses (I think it was around 9) that were a sampling of traditional Korea staples with a twist of the modern.  They did a good job on the food, which is all important in my book.

We got a photographer to take an official birthday portrait of Sammy, but didn't keep him around for the whole party.  My camera and video camera did the trick, though it's becoming clear that my Nikon is just terrible at indoor shots.

 

Sammy's Turn

Now it's Sammy's turn to choose his future.  One sounds a little young, but it can't be any less accurate than current standardized testing in our schools :)

We sat Sammy in front of the items above.  He was a little distracted by all the people cheering him on (and trying to get him to choose the money).  Then he sank his hand into the bowl of jujubes.  This didn't satisfy the crowd, so they determined that it was a do-over.  So, they repositioned everything and shook the money in front of him...he choose the jujubes again!  This is obviously a mistake, so the bowl of jujubes is removed.  Finally, he chooses the money and everyone cheers.  Don't worry, I have the jujubes on video, no getting around that.

However, it turns out that we did this at the wrong time.  The official choosing was to be done as part of a program that restaurant does.  On the second run Sammy chose the computer mouse.  I'm still sticking with the jujubes.  I'm a little uncomfortable with a politician in our midst, but I also don't want him stuck in a programmer's cubicle like calf waiting to be veal parmesan.

 

Gifts

Money is a common gift these days, but the traditional first birthday gift is gold.  This is primarily given as gold rings, but also as gold bracelets.  Sammy looked like a blinged out playa' and hated every moment of wearing them (see end of video).

 

The Video

Much of what I've described here is in the video.  It goes a little slow, but you'll get the idea. 

Here is the video (right-click on the link and choose "save file as" to save to your computer.  Much easier on my server and best for slower connections)

Click Here to Load