[Current & Culture]I Don't Know the Reason for the Weather

The Rain That Falls Every Chilwol Chilsuk
Are These the Tears of Gyeonwoo and Jiknyeo Reunited?

Recently, after a typhoon passed and the weather cleared up, it got hot for a few days, and now it's raining again. Precisely on Chilwol Chilsuk (the 22nd), it has been raining since morning. I don't know the reason for the weather. When I see a weather forecast saying a typhoon is coming, I just accept it; if it says it will be hot, I accept that too; if it says it will rain, I accept that as well. But this time, I think I know the reason for the rain, so I told my friend. It seems that Gyeonwoo and Jiknyeo are meeting again this year.

The Jade Emperor punished Gyeonwoo and Jiknyeo to meet only once a year on the lunar calendar's Chilwol Chilsuk. Seeing the two crying facing each other across a long river, magpies gathered and built a bridge, and the two met, and their tears became the rain of Chilwol Chilsuk. These days, it seems all the magpies have gone to build the magpie bridge, as they are nowhere to be seen. Although they usually weren't seen much, perhaps they are wisely avoiding the rain, but yes, let's say they went to build the magpie bridge.

When I said that the rain falling now is the tears of Gyeonwoo and Jiknyeo, my friend replied that while it seems to be raining in Seoul where I am on a business trip, it is not raining in Gangwon-do where he is. So I told him again that it seems like they are enjoying a city date. They probably wouldn't go hiking or swimming after such a long time. They might be eating tanghulu, which is popular these days, somewhere above the Seoul city sky.

The rain continued even after Chilwol Chilsuk. It rained on the 8th (solar calendar 23rd) and on the 9th as well. We said, maybe the Jade Emperor allowed them to meet for three days this time. Come to think of it, there are various types of couples in the world: couples who see each other every day, weekend couples who only meet on weekends, and geese couples where one person is abroad with the children. Gyeonwoo and Jiknyeo might be one of those types. The Gyeonwoo-Jiknyeo couple who meet for a few days on a fixed day once a year. Oh, that might not be so bad after all, we thought, but then we stopped talking.

It is said that Gyeonwoo and Jiknyeo recognized each other at a glance. They loved each other so much that they forgot their own work and are now paying the price for that. Where does love and tenderness for others come from? I believe it comes solely from language. Sometimes in life, we meet people whose language overlaps with ours. Humans are beings who create a dictionary. In one person’s body, the languages they have used accumulate steadily, and they naturally open the pages of that dictionary in various situations. Love begins by recognizing the similarity in the usage of language. Gyeonwoo and Jiknyeo must have laughed starting from the overlap in their words. They must have been surprised that the joyful words for each other were just like their own. As the conversation deepened, they must have been moved by realizing the point where the lines of language should stop coincided, meaning they knew what not to say. Perhaps that is why they let go of everything and loved each other.

Well, this might not be the tears of Gyeonwoo and Jiknyeo. Then what is it? They wouldn't just keep crying, right? Right. The magpies who built the magpie bridge must be tired too, so maybe these are the tears they are shedding. Haha.

People whose usage of such trivial words is similar are the most lovable. I will continue to live not knowing the reasons for the weather, but if someone thinks of Gyeonwoo and Jiknyeo when seeing the rain of Chilwol Chilsuk, I think I will look at them with affection.

Kim Minseop, Social and Cultural Critic

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.