Cheonggyecheon history and culture entry
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Dari Bapgi (bridge crossing game)
Dari Bapgi (bridge crossing game) in cheonggyecheon in No leg diseases after Dari Bapgi! On the night of Daeboreum, the day of the first full moon of the y
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Description
No leg diseases after Dari Bapgi! On the night of Daeboreum, the day of the first full moon of the year, when the bell of ‘Jongru(a belfry located at the center of Hanyang Fortress)’ rang, people came out to the Cheonggyecheon Stream and participated in Dari Bapgi, a bridge crossing game. It is traditionally said that there would be no diseases related to legs for the year after participating in Dari Bapgi on Daeboreum. This is a wordplay because ‘Dari’ means both ‘bridge and leg’ in Korean language, so when combined with the word ‘Bapgi’, which means ‘to step on’, ‘Dari Bapgi’ becomes ‘stepping on bridge and leg’. Due to this myth, people crowded around the stream’s bridges; it is said that the Supyogyo and Gwanggyo Bridge were the most chaotic bridges, jam-packed with people. Dari Bapgi was a tradition that descended for hundreds of years from Goryeo Dynasty. Three days of Dari Bapgi during Daeboreum Bridge crossing was a game that can be enjoyed by men and women of all ages, so during Daeboreum, bridges were always jam packed with people until late night. Therefore, to avoid bustle, gentry families participated in Dari Bapgi on January 14th, a day before Daeboreum, and the women of middle-class households participated on the night of January 16th. Therefore, Dari Bapgi went on for three days. King Yeongjo banned the night curfew on Daeboreum and allowed the people to enjoy this game throughout the night. King Jeongjo banned the night curfew for three days around Daeboreum and did not lock the bars of Sungnyemun and Heunginmun Gate to allow people living in the city fortress to step out of the castle and enjoy the bridge crossing game. There was also a time when Dari Bapgi was forbidden. It is said that the men and women of middle-class gathered on Daeboreum to prevent misfortune of the year by crossing the twelve bridges in Cheonggyecheon Stream, but fights would break out, so King Myeongjong prohibited Dari Bapgi for corrupting public morals. Let misfortune of the year slide by the Cheonggyecheon Stream People crowded on the bridges in Cheonggyecheon, dancing and singing to the sound of Korean traditional music in hopes of preventing misfortune of the year. The Cheonggyecheon Stream was a line bordering the capital city’s fortress, but at the same time, the bridge connecting the boundary was a place where many people became one praying for a peaceful year.
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Source
Korea Tourism Organization and Visit Seoul.