What do Koreans eat on Seollal(Lunar New Year's Day)?

It's beginning to look a lot like Seollal!

 

Seollal is lunar new year's day and one of the greatest holidays in Korea. To celebrate the day, Koreans traditionally make Teok-guk(떡국) with a savory broth and the sliced rice cake called Ga-rae Teok(가래떡).

The reason why rice cake soup is eaten on New Year's Day morning is because the pure white rice cake and soup symbolizes forgetting all the bad things of the past and starting new year.

 Since the Ga-rae Teok itself looks like a white long rope, it symbolizes longevity and the prosperity of the family. Also when it gets sliced, it resembles the shape of the old currency, Yeop-jeon(엽전, Korean Traditional Coin), and it contains the hope that fortune will continue throughout the year. Because it was considered a must-eat rice cake soup to celebrate the Lunar New Year, people used to say you must eat a bowl to turn a year older before abolishing the Korean age system. 

Although some people use different recipe depending on the local traditions, ingredients are needed as below. 

[Teok-guk Ingredient for 1 person]

1. Sliced rice cakes 120g

2. Beef Rump (for broth) 100g

3. 2 Eggs (for topping)

4. Sesame Oil(1 Tea Spoon)

5. Chopped Garlic(1/2 Tea Spoon)

6. Salt(1 Tea Spoon)

6. Water(750 ml)

7. Pepper and Seaweed powder(Optional garnish)

If you would like to actually try to make this soup, here are some English video clips to refer to.

★Maangchi Channel

https://youtu.be/plvT0vWBK14?si=hD9b_9p6mXOWya20

★Paik Jong Won Channel (English Subtitle Setting Needed)

https://youtu.be/At-u3lwsFtk?si=QpqDuzv2QlIXINLC