Chut-tul

On Friday evening myself and ALL of my co-workers, from the principal to the cook and the cleaning lady, piled into the big purple school bus for a trip into Seoul. The special occasion? Our director’s child’s first birthday party. Not just any child; he’s the eldest son of an eldest son. Which means he’s pretty much a big deal. Koreans still very much believe that having a son is preferable to having a daughter, as it is the son who is expected to care for the parents in their old age. Don’t get me wrong, any parents I have seen with their children in this country dote equally on sons and daughters, but having a boy first definitely seems to take the pressure off.

The first birthday, Chut-tul, is a huge milestone in a Korean’s life. From what I could find out doing a little research, this has to do primarily with the high infant mortality rate of years long past. Obviously with modern medical developments infant mortality has been reduced significantly, however in the past if a child lived to see their first birthday their chances of surviving into adulthood were greatly improved. The first birthday was therefore a cause for great celebration. I have also read that there were/ are “shamanistic” reasons for celebrating this birthday, however I could not find exactly what they are. I’ve heard that most Koreans aren’t even sure anymore why some things are done, so perhaps that part is no longer of any real consequence. That being said, I am an archetypal green and am therefore determined to find out.

Apparently this is often also when the baby is given their English name. Elly hasn’t quite decided on a name for her baby yet, but she’s thinking Benjamin. Great name. That being said, I’ve often wondered why everyone in Korea chooses an English name anyway. Aren’t their family-given names sufficient?...

For now, I’ll focus on what I do know. The child’s parents throw a huge party to honour the Chut-tul. In this case, Elly and her husband rented out a nice restaurant and invited what seemed to be just about everyone they knew. They also fed all of us, which is part of the celebration. It is believed that sharing food, especially fruit, rice and rice cakes, will ensure that the child will have a long life. There was so much food! I, of course, was in heaven. There was Korean food and Western food and just about everything in between.

Another important aspect of the Chut-tul is the Toljabee. During the Toljabee the child predicts their future by selecting items from a pile placed before them. The child is dressed in traditional Hanbok (in this case it was pastel pink, green and purple; he was so cute, I wish I would have gotten a picture!) and placed on a table, where everyone can see him/ her. Then various items are placed in front the child and he is let go to pick a few of them. If the child picks money or rice they will be wealthy. String? They will have a long life. A pencil? They will become a scholar. Microphone? You got it, entertainer. Little possibly-Benjamin chose money first, followed by a pencil. His future’s lookin’ good. J

Aside from the Toljabee, I found the gift giving aspect to be the most interesting part of the Chut-tul. Instead of giving toys or clothing, guests buy the child a gold ring. These rings are not intended to be worn by the baby, but rather to be used by the parents to pay for important aspects of the child’s future, such as his/ her education. Doesn’t that just sound so logical? Instead of buying 50 million toys that the baby doesn’t need and will probably only play with for a week, invest in their future! All the staff at our school got together to buy possibly-Benjamin a ring, which I forgot to take a picture of, of course.

It’s too bad I didn’t have a Chut-tul. Perhaps I would have picked up something that could be used as a memory aid.

On Monday I spoke with a few of my elementary (ie: older students) about their Chut-tul. Most of them told me that they chose either money or a pencil. I love talking to my kids about stiff like this, because they’re always so shocked when I tell them that we don’t have those types of things in Canada/ the US. The thing they still can’t get over? How Westerners perceive age. In Korea, when I child is born, he/ she is one year old. This means that at their first birthday they are actually turning two. The kids just couldn’t believe that in Canada I’m 25, but in Korea I’m 26.

Go figure. I move to another country and instantaneously add a year to my life.