In Korea, certain birthdays are considered important milestones in a person’s life. One of the biggest birthday celebrations is called 돌. 돌 is a baby’s first birthday. This first birthday is important because it marks the likelihood of a child surviving into adulthood. Although it’s hardly the case today, infant mortality rates in Korea used to be high. As a result, the baby’s first birthday was and still is a big cause for rejoicing. A 돌잔치 is a big feast, with the typical food being rice cakes. Again, this isn’t true today, but rice was a staple food enjoyed only by the upper classes. The lower classes only ate rice and rice cakes on special occasions like 돌.

A special game that requires the participation of the infant is held during the 돌 party. The items may differ depending on the parents, but the typical items include money, a piece of string, and a pencil. The money symbolizes wealth, the string symbolizes long life and the pencil denotes wisdom. The infant is supposed to choose the item with his or her own hands. The item the infant chooses determines the path the infant will take. For example, if the infant chooses the pencil, it means that he or she will become a scholar. Of course, this is done in good fun and nobody really believes this game to be an actual account of the child’s fate.

Nowadays parents are much more creative with the items. Some parents set a toy mallet, a stethescope, a computer mouse, or a toy tennis racket or golf club. The mallet signifies the child’s future as a judge in the courtroom, the stethescope signifies a doctor, a computer mouse = engineer or something IT related, and a tennis racket or golf club = an athlete. Sometimes a mix of traditional and contemporary items are presented. For example, a bowl of uncooked rice for wealth and glasses, symbolizing an eye doctor, may be displayed. Anyway, it’s a source of great entertainment, especially when the child grabs everything in sight!

For the 돌 party, the child is dressed in traditional clothes. For girls, a traditional kind of hat called a 조바위 is worn, and for boys a long hat with a pointy top called 호건 is worn. The guests will often provide some money in an envelope as a way of congratulating the parents. Sometimes close relatives of the child will present a tiny sized gold ring for the child. Traditionally, this gold was melted down and exchanged for money, so as to pay for expenses like the child’s college tuition. Since gold is becoming expensive, money is given instead. It’s also interesting to note that it’s one of the biggest birthday celebrations of a person’s life, but also one of the birthdays that the child himself/herself is unable to remember!