Wedding Day in DPRK. (Photo: Minjok 21.)

By Kim Hyun

On the seventh day of July on the lunar calendar, which falls on the solar August 11 this year, according to the tale, heaven allows its daughter to reunite with her husband in the universe after a year of forced separation. The lunar July 7 is now emerging in Korea as its lovers’ day, rather than Valentine’s Day that came from the West.

"We take Valentine’s Day for granted, and do not even know its historical roots. It spread here for commercial reasons," Cha Ok-deok, a Ph.D. in Korean literature and author of various Korean folklore and history books, said.

Cha is one of the Korean culture experts who promotes Chilseok, which means "seventh night" and refers to the lunar July 7, as Korea’s day for lovers.

"We have a heartfelt love story with Chilseok that was told from generation to generation," she said.

Korean children grow up hearing the ancient tale of unbreakable love between Gyeonu (cowherd) and Jingnyeo (young weaving woman). Jingnyeo, a beautiful daughter of the heavenly lord, wove clothes with a loom, which was so enchanting that stars in the sky stopped moving to look at her. One day, she lifted her eyes to see a young man herding cattle along a riverbank. When their eyes met, she felt instantly in love and ran to her father to ask for permission to marry him. The heavenly lord was pleased to see them together, as Gyeonu was known as a smart, kind and diligent young man.

This ancient mural painting, produced in A.D. 408 in the Koguryo Kingdom era and found inside a royal tomb in Tokhung-ri, South Pyongyang Province, which is now part of North Korea, suggests Koreans knew the love story that took place on the lunar day July 7 a long time ago. In the painting, Gyeonu takes leave with a cow, while his lover Jingnyeo sits behind him as if bidding farewell.

Too much love, however, became a misfortune. The couple were always together and neglected their work, infuriating the heavenly lord. After repeated admonitions, he declared they would be punished by separation. Gyeonu was sent to the eastern end of the universe, and Jingnye to the western end, and they were allowed to reunite only once a year on the seventh day of July. When the day came, flocks of magpies and crows formed a bridge for the couple to meet over the milky way. Their tears of joy became rain on the earth, which actually tends to happen on that day in Korea.

Folklore experts say the lunar July 7th, along with the first day of the new year, is when yin and yang, or men and women in the context of relationships, are balanced in the universe.

"The lunar July 7th is the only day of the year when the sun and the moon are in the sky at the same time. It means there is a balance of yin and yang," Cha said in her book "Chilseokjeeuigyoe," a compilation on rituals of Chilseok Day.

An ancient mural painting suggests Koreans had the love story a long time ago. The mural produced in A.D. 408 in the Koguryo Kingdom era, found inside a royal tomb in Tokhung-ri, South Pyongyan Province, which now belongs to North Korea, shows a man leaving with a cow and a woman sitting behind him as if bidding her farewell.

Traditionally, Koreans exchanged gingko nuts with their loved ones, hoping for their lasting love. They also wished for heavenly blessings for their families and friends by cleaning their homes with water and holding rituals for Jingnyeo, also believed to be the goddess of weaving, experts say. But the customs stopped in the 1930s, as the Japanese colonial era forced assimilation and banned education of Korean language and culture.

A Milky Way of love: Seen here is a night sky view taken on the lunar day July 7th. With the dark line of the Milky Way in the middle, at the right side is the cowboy star, Altair (arrow at the top of the photo) and the weaving maid star, Vega (arrow at bottom right). The Korean story says the lovers were allowed to meet only once a year on lunar July 7th, and their reunion over the Milky Way was made possible by flocks of magpies and crows who built a bridge for them. The photo was taken in 1999 in Muju County, South Jeolla Province. (Yonhap photo database)

While the Gyeonu and Jingnyeo story originated in China, it developed into different versions in Korea and Japan, and Koreans feel particularly connected to it, experts say. They maintain the story appeals to the Korean sense of longing for the other half of the peninsula, as hundreds of thousands of families have been separated since the 1950-53 Korean War.

Cho Kyu-ick, Korean literature professor of Seoul’s Soongsil University, compared the tragedy of separated families to that of the mythical couple. After the war, married couples, parents and children could not hope to meet again until the South and North began holding brief reunions in 2000.

"The Chilseok Day should be restored as a festival to bridge the South and North, an event for reunification," Cho said in his contribution to "Chilseokjeeuigyoe." As part of the movement to revive Chilseok Day, the Seoul city government plans a fireworks festival next year along the Han River, said Yoon Young-min, an official of the city’s festival planning department.

"Given our shared significance of Chilseok, we are working on the theme of the reunion with loved ones as a new travel resource," he said.

(Yonhap, July 22, 2005)