穀雨 : Gogu, Soaking rice seeds, gogu-sari, gogumul / Grain Rain

곡우를 나타낸 그림과 신문기사

"Gogusari Fishing" by Lee Eok-yeong	An article on Gogu in the Chosun Ilbo, dated April 20, 1966

"Gogu" (穀雨), which literally means "grain rain," has long been known as the day when a warm spring rain enriches the crops. It marks the sixth season of the 24 seasonal sub-divisions, or solar terms, of the solar calendar. Mid-March on the lunar calendar usually falls around April 20 on the solar calendar, or between "Cheongmyeong" (淸明) and "Ipha" (立夏).

모판에서부터 볍씨치기까지

Seedbeds	Covering the Seedbeds with Vinyl Sheets	Covering the Seedbeds with Vinyl Sheets	Sowing Rice Seeds

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Containing Rice Seeds

Around "Gogu," the farming season starts with the preparation of the seedbeds. This explains why there are many proverbs related to farming in Korea, such as: "During Gogu, all grains wake up," "When Gogu is afflicted by drought, the entire farm dries up," "Rain on Gogu is bad for farming" and so forth. Come "Gogu," farmers contain the most important rice seeds, and the straw bags used to store seeds are covered with pine branches. During this time, if anyone went to a funeral or saw evil portents, they had to place a fire in front of their house and cross over the fire to ward off evil spirits before entering it. And, upon entering the house, they had to refrain from looking at the rice seeds for it was believed that if anyone accompanying an evil spirit saw or touched them, then they would not sprout properly, spoiling that year's harvest.

At around this time, the highly prized fish called "jogi" (yellow corvina), having wintered near Heuksando Island, would swim north to reach Gyeoknyeolbiyeoldo (格列飛列島) Island in Chungcheongnam-do, so fishermen in the Yellow Sea would have a good catch of yellow corvina. Fishing in this period is called "Gogusari". The yellow corvine are still young but their flesh is tender and delicious, attracting many fishing boats from the west and south. In the Yeonggwang region of South Jeolla province, "Hansiksari" and "Iphasari" fishing are well-known; however, the "jogi" caught during Gogusari are tasty and fat with delicious roe. Of the various "jogi" varieties, those caught during "gogusari" is the most highly rated and appreciated.

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Drinking Gogu Water

On "Gogu," all people were encouraged not to see evil and to drive away evil spirits by placing a fire in front of the main gate before entering their house. Even married couples avoided sleeping together because people believed that if they did, "Tosin" (土神), the earth god, would get jealous and curse the farm with empty granaries. On this day, people would change cotton sheets and get a splash of (splash themselves with?) water to prevent heat exhaustion and cure neuralgia. Around this time, trees swelled up with sap water, and there is a custom of going up to the mountains to drink sap water, or "gogumul." Sap water is usually extracted from birch trees, called "Gorosoe," which is known to be effective in curing stomach ailments and neuralgia.

here are many folk beliefs related to good or bad harvests. In the Namhae Sea in Gyeongsangnam-do, it was believed that a windy and rainy "Gogu" would bring a bad season. In Onjin-gun in Incheon, a rainy "Gogu" would block spring wells, which would then lead to drought. In Pocheon city of Gyeonggi-do, it was believed that a rainy "Gogu" would bring a good harvest, and that a dry "Gogu" would bring a bad harvest. In Sunchang, Gyeongsangbuk-do, a rainy "Gogu" was considered a bad year for farming. These various weather-related beliefs offer insight into simple-hearted farmers’ wishes for a good harvest.