In South Korea, May 5th (5/5) is recognized as Children's Day. Children's Day or 어린이날 (eorininal) is a public holiday that celebrates children. 어린이날 consists of the word for children (어린이 | eorini) and the word for day (날 | nal). Although Children's Day is celebrated in many countries around the world, it is an important holiday in South Korea where salaried workers get a day off work and children get a day off from school. Parents often give presents to their children and spend quality time with them. The children go to zoos, museums, and various venues of children-oriented entertainment. Children's Day events are becoming more commercial, becoming important events to increase sales of children's products.
Children's Day was first created by progressive ethnic Korean students, with Korean Independence movement leaders against Japanese colonialism. People from Jinju gathered to promote and improve the social status of children and encourage adults to teach awareness of their deprived sovereignty. The celebration of Children's Day in Korea has taught people about children's fundamental human rights.
Three days after Children’s Day, on May 8th, is Parent's Day. The Korean word for Parent’s Day is 어버이날 (eobeoinal). Like the U.S., this day was originally for Mother’s Day, but since there wasn’t a designated Father’s Day, the two days were combined to make Parent’s Day. However, this is not a national holiday. Traditionally, children give their parents carnations on parent’s day and many convenience stores and shops will have special displays so that children can easily buy flowers or other small gifts for their parents.
Comments
Thank you for your cultural post! I found it very interesting learning about the Children's Day holiday that is celebrated in South Korea. I never knew it was created by progressive ethnic korean students along with the Korean independence movement against Japanese Colonialism. I also didn't know it was people from Jingo who gathered to promote and improve the social status of children. I think without them our culture would have been a lot different today.