Crowds of Hyesan residents climbed to the top of hills and other high places to view the full moon and make wishes on the Jeongwol Daeboreum holiday.
Speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons, a source in Yanggang Province told Daily NK on Monday that many Hyesan residents watched the full moon on Jeongwol Daeboreum on Feb. 24. “Some also prayed to ward off misfortune this year,” he said.
Jeongwol Daeboreum, or the Great Full Moon Festival, is a holiday on the 15th day of the first lunar month, which marks the first full moon of the year. People pray for peace and prosperity and enjoy traditional games and food.
In North Korea, people eat five-grain rice with nine side dishes of seasoned vegetables, while at night they make wishes while gazing at the full moon. In particular, North Koreans believe that prayers to ward off misfortune are especially effective on this day, so they also visit fortune tellers to inquire about ways to keep evil at bay.
The source said that this year, almost no one ate five-grain rice with vegetable side dishes due to severe economic hardship. However, “many families took in the full moon while making wishes or praying to ward off misfortune” because “they earnestly hope to be free from the pain and hardship they are currently suffering,” he added.
People hope for end to food shortages
Although cloudy conditions obscured the moon this year, many people gathered at high points around the city to make wishes.
“About three out of five families are already suffering without food at home, despite much of the ‘barley hump’ remaining,” the source said, referring to a lean period of food when the harvest from the previous year has been exhausted. “With only darkness ahead, more people than ever made wishes because they thought it was better than not doing so since it is said that wishes come true if you tell them to the Daeboreum moon.”
Despite their hardships, people went to fortune tellers for readings or to ward off evil by doing as the fortune tellers instructed, such as floating pictures on water and praying or sticking them in places such as untouched roofs on the evening of Jeongwol Daeboreum.
People scattered food such as red beans, which are used to ward off misfortune, in the streets and alleys of Hyesan, as well as KPW 50 and KPW 100 coins to free themselves from worry and anxiety.
North Korea considers such superstitions to be “anti-socialist” behavior, and people caught engaging in them face criminal punishment. However, many people still engage in this Jeongwol Daeboreum for a bit of solace in their hardscrabble lives, the source said.
“That people brave the danger and engage in this behavior even though they face punishment if caught is an internal struggle to quickly break free from a life of pain,” the source said. “I hope heaven will listen to the people’s wishes and improve their lives a little this year.”
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
Daily NK works with a network of sources living in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. Their identities remain anonymous for security reasons. For more information about Daily NK’s network of reporting partners and information-gathering activities, please visit our FAQ page here.
Please send any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
