It should be a safe bet that those reading this blog know of the lunar calendar – not so much know its mechanics, but rather know its function with regards to important dates like Lunar New Year and the Lunar Festival – and also birthdays.
Because my parents are twice removed from China and thus weren’t brought up using the lunar calendar, I found Jean Yoon’s radio documentary ‘My Mother’s Birthday’ quite fascinating. (The same Jean Yoon found here.)
I was already familiar with most of what she spoke about as a friend of mine, who also happens to be Korean, doesn’t really know her ‘real’ date of birth. For all she knows, she could be twice as old or young as her papers say. What I didn’t know, was the stigma surrounding having a girl of a certain year and fudging dates to appease future-in-laws. *cue airing of dirty laundry.*
It’s a rather humourous take on an old tradition that still continues to be fiercely followed.
My parents, however, while traditional are honest to a fault eventhough I was born in the year of the Horse.
Podcasted from CBC.ca …
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3 Comments to “Birthdays in Korea … and other dirty laundry exposed.”
Bo wrote:
I’m fairly certain that my actual birthday is not the one on my birth certificate. Why am I certain of this? Because I have met at least a dozen other Korea-born girls all born on Oct. 20 1975. It’s too many to be a coincidence. I have never met a non-Korean person (male or female) with the same birthdate. My mother swears up and down that I was born on Oct. 20th but I’m not convinced. Koreans do stuff like this all the time.
Posted on 19-Mar-08 at 2:33 pm | Permalink
jennifer wrote:
how weird!! i was firmly born on june 21. the only person in my family who follows the lunar calendar year is my maternal grandmother, so we never know when her birthday is each year til she calls us and tells us it’s her birthday. (whooops)
my paternal grandmother, on the other hand, doesn’t even pretend and firmly “fibbed” a bit on her driver’s license, immigration papers so she is actually several years older than her papers say she is. i like that, it’s better…more direct.
Posted on 19-Mar-08 at 8:58 pm | Permalink
Young wrote:
I was born in December, but my papers show Feb. Do you kow can I find out my lunar birthday?
Thanks,
Young Oak
Posted on 08-Jan-09 at 7:57 am | Permalink
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