Signs of Summer's End - Cheoseo

Cheoseo , or 처서 (處暑) which means " the limit of heat", is one of the 24 seasonal divisions in the lunar calendar. It marks the beginning of the end of summer and while it may not mean much to city-slickers, you may spot signs of the turn of the seasons in the Korean countryside.

For instance, this would be the time when farmers start to dry their red peppers out in the sun.

Apparently, this is the best time to savour peaches in Korea.

Cosmos blooms such as these ones near Jungryangcheon, in Sageun-dong, in Seoul are another sign that autumn is on its way.

Rice harvesting takes place around this time as well. Farmers like the people here from Deokpo Village near Busan, keep their fingers crossed ( or whatever is the Korean equivalent of that) for dry days leading up to Cheoseo as they need the sun for the rice to ripen quickly.

Also, don't be surprised to see more people than usual cooling off under the Cheonjeyon Falls in Jeju-do  around the 23rd of August. One legend has it that you can recover from any illness if you stand under the falls  which means "the pond of God" on Cheoseo Day.

According to one Korean proverb, "mosquito mouths are shut when Cheoseo comes". Unfortunately, with global warming a sad and more apparent reality, autumn mosquitoes are likely to be a thing of the present and future.

Here's a solemn poem by Heo Hyung Man and translated by Rodney E. Tyson and Hong Eun-Taek. While it's inspired by the shift from summer heat to autumn cool, the sobering sense of our days being numbered is all too apparent in this lyric.

"Cheoseo"

A winged insect flies low low

In a brief instant it's cloudy

A pine tree halfway up the mountain

Is imprisoned in a black cloud

Fluttering, the sound of

The birds of the earth flying up all at once

Began to accompany the strong wind

More than the days I've lived

The days I'll live have become much shorter

All of heaven's living things

Are hurrying back to the earth

from The Quarterly Review: Poetry & Criticism, 3(1), 225-226. Spring 2000.

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Korea's Pastimes and Customs: A Social History by Yi I-Hwa