Today was the hottest day of the year so far as the temperature rose up to 33.1ºC (91.6°F). July and August are the hottest months in Korea, which means hotter and more harsh days are to come. Argh…
Well, summer is my least favorite season. Or, I would say summer is my least favorite season in Korea. I LOVED summer in Europe when I lived there. But, summer in Korea is too hot and too humid.
The heat exhausts the body and makes you lose appetite. You lose the energy but you do not want to eat anything heavy. So it is high risk both health and wellbeing would be in danger in July and August.
In Korea there are 3 important days in the height of summer called Bok-nal, 복날. Bok-nal is the hottest day of summer based on the lunar calendar and we eat healthy food to restore the energy and vigor. One important thing is the food should be hot, because it is believed that the heat beats the heat. This year the three Bok-nals fall on 17 July, 27 July and 16 August. The most popular dish of Bok-nals is Samgyetang, the chicken soup. Some people enjoy Bosintang, the dog soup.
The first Bok-nal of the year is still one week left but I needed to restore the energy so badly that I asked my mother to cook Samgyetang for me this weekend. Thankfully my parents cooked Samgyetang for me. They added abalone too. It was an absolutely great energy-boosting food. Tomorrow is expected to be hotter than today (nooooooo! ). However, I would probably feel less hot thanks to Samgyetang I had today. 🙂
