culture

July is the hottest month of the year in the DPRK.

Soso and taeso are the subdivisions of July.

Soso means the beginning of summer heat, which falls on early June by the lunar calendar corresponding to July 6-8 by the solar calendar.

Taeso means the hottest day of summer, which falls on late June by the lunar calendar corresponding to July 22-23 by the solar calendar.

This year, soso fell on July 6 and taeso falls on July 22.

At that time of the year, all kinds of crops grow rapidly day after day.

So, proper weeding and crop raising ensure a bumper harvest.

In July, there are two of sambok, the hottest period of the year in the country, namely chobok and jungbok.

Chobok, the first period of the dog days, begins on July 15 this year and jungbok, the second one, on July 25.

Since ancient times, the Korean people have prepared different kinds of foods in the hottest period.

Typical of them are tangogi (dog meat) soup, samgyethang (a chicken boiled with insam (ginseng), and rice and red-bean porridge.

Especially, tangogi soup is one of the traditional foods which the Koreans like to eat in the hottest period.

When they lost appetite and became feeble due to summer heat, they had the food to regain appetite and nourish themselves, calling it a restorative.

In July, the Koreans liked to play such folk games as kkoni and alchigi.