New Clothes for New Year’s Day by Hyun-Joo Bae (Kane/Miller Book Publishers, ISBN 978-1-933605-29-6) is a beautiful book about the South Korean custom of wearing new clothes on New Year’s Day.
A little girl wakes in the early morning. She stares out the window and sees the first day of the New Year.
To get ready for the day’s well wishes, the little girl wraps her crimson silk skirt (Chima) around her waist and ties it on with a sash. Then she puts on her embroidered cotton socks (Beoseon) and her rainbow-striped jacket (Saekdong Jeogori). A headband (Baessi Dangii) goes over her neatly braided hair and a warm, furry vest goes over her jacket. Leather flower-embroidered shoes (Kkotsin) cover her feet.
The little girl then hangs a charm (Norigae) and a lucky bag (Jumeoni) from her jacket. She puts on a black satin winter hat (Jobawi) to keep her warm as she goes visiting.
She is all new, from head to toe, and ready to celebrate being one-year older.
New Clothes for New Year’s Day is a wonderful book that introduces children to the culture of South Korea. The brightly colored illustrations seem to glow off the pages and are simply stunning, showing children step-by-step how a little girl from South Korea prepares for the New Year.
