Try to stay up on New Year\u2019s Eve, otherwise your eyebrows will turn white next morning.<\/p>\n
\uc0c8\ud574 \ubcf5 \ub9ce\uc774 \ubc1b\uc73c\uc138\uc694<\/em><\/strong>!<\/em><\/strong><\/span> (Happy New Year!)<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong>Why stay up on New Year\u2019s Eve?<\/strong><\/p>\n As a child, I remember trying so hard to stay awake on New Year\u2019s Eve. My grandma and mother used to tell me, \u201cIf you don\u2019t stay up all night, your\u00a0\ub208\uc379\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>(eyebrows) will turn\u00a0\ud558\uc580\uc0c9\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>(white) next morning.\u201d Although my head was bobbing and \ub208\uaebc\ud480\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>(eyelids) were so heavy, being scared to death, I did my best to stay awake: pinching my eyelids, washing my\u00a0\uc5bc\uad74 <\/em><\/strong>(face) with cold water, getting fresh air, and walking around. As you can guess, I always ended up dozing off to sleep, and in a panic I ran straight to the \uac70\uc6b8\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>(mirror) as soon as I woke up the next morning. For many years, I used to run straight to the mirror to check my eyebrow color on New Year\u2019s morning. Some of my friends shared their stories of finding themselves with white eyebrows on the New Year\u2019s morning due to their siblings\u2019 or family members\u2019 pranks.<\/p>\n Later on, I learned that this is an old custom to keep people up on New Year\u2019s Eve: in order to encourage people to look back at the old year and make good plans for the new year. Korean ancestors try to teach people a lesson: you need to be prepared for the upcoming year.<\/p>\n What do Koreans do on New Year\u2019s Eve?<\/strong><\/p>\n Although it is freezing cold outside, tens of thousands of Korean people will turn out in \uc885\ub85c\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>(Jongno in Seoul) to catch a glimpse of the landmark\u00a0\ubcf4\uc2e0\uac01 \uc885<\/em><\/strong> (Boshingak Bell) and listen to 33 rings of the bell at midnight of December 31. This is one of the popular traditions of Korean\u00a0\uc2dc\ubbfc\ub4e4\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>(citizens) to say good-bye to the old year and welcome the New Year with friends and family members. \uc11c\uc6b8 \uc2dc\uc7a5\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>(Mayor of Seoul), several other government officials, and selected citizens will ring the bell together to mark the end of the year and announce the beginning of the New Year. Due to a large crowd gathering at late hours, the city will provide special extended service hours of the subways and buses for the citizens.<\/p>\n People also like to ride night trains to go to the beach to see the first \ud574\ub3cb\uc774\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>(sunrise) of the new year. \uc815\ub3d9\uc9c4\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>(Jengdongjin) in the east coast of south Korea is a quaint place that people love to go to watch\u00a0\ud574\ub3cb\uc774<\/em><\/strong>. This place became famous after filming a popular Korean drama \ubaa8\ub798\uc2dc\uacc4 (The Sandglass aka Hourglass). This show was one of the highest-rated TV series in Korea.<\/p>\n There are many other popular places to enjoy picturesque\u00a0\ud574\ub3cb\uc774\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>sites in Korea, and some itinerary will offer special events to the passengers, such as recreation, karaoke system, and board game cafe.<\/p>\n \uc1a1\ub144\ud68c\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>is very popular among Korean people. What is \uc1a1\ub144\ud68c<\/em><\/strong>? It is a year-end party that \uce5c\uad6c\ub4e4\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>(friends), \ub3d9\ub8cc\ub4e4\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>(coworkers), or \ubc18 \uce5c\uad6c\ub4e4\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>(classmates) get together with drinking and eating to ring out the outgoing year. People take this party as an opportunity to connect or reconnect with people around them. Whether you liked or disliked your coworkers during the year, people will try to put all the bad feelings behind and have a good time together to welcome a beginning of the New Year. Korean bosses or seniors might give brief(?) speeches to employees or juniors during the\u00a0\uc1a1\ub144\ud68c<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n New Year\u2019s Greeting<\/strong><\/p>\n