Seollal 2024: Welcoming 2024 in Seoul

For many people celebrating the new year, they stay up until midnight and then sleep in late. In Korea, however, the tradition is to wake up and greet the first sunrise. Large crowds will gather on beaches, people will climb mountains and all will face east to watch the big ball of orange make its first appearance.

On January 1, my friends and I went to Haneul Park in Seoul with hundreds of others to wait for the sunrise. There were a few clouds that worried us a bit, but thankfully they didn’t hide the sun for long. Once the first rays of light appeared, many people clapped and cheered and played paparazzi to an object we often take for granted. My friends and I watched the sun for a while, ate some tasty baked goods, and then headed down to have a very greasy breakfast at a diner in Hongdae before everyone’s toes froze. This very early, cold morning, filled with a little hiking, laughter, people I love, and the simplicity of the sun will go down as one of my favorite New Year’s celebrations.