A Calm Autumn Day

[Metamancy 1766]

A Humble Abode - The Daily Won Routine

 

An Cheong-Won absentmindedly swept her maru (living room) floor with her bitjaru (broom). It was early morning, but no sunlight streamed through her windows - The Thirsting Oasis was always dark outside, but that wouldn't stop Cheong-Won from having a good day. Besides, she got plenty of sunlight on her visits to Numenost and, though it was further, Celia'nor. She was fascinated with the jangsu (elves), with their pointy ears and tall stature.

She was finished with her dusting in no time; she lived alone and cleaned daily, so there really wasn't too much to do in her small house. Mostly, she just enjoyed the work - and she would read books if she could, except she couldn't read. Back in Won, young Won-in girls were scarcely taught to read and write.

She set the broom aside and swiftly got to cleaning her kitchen and seating area. She wet a gollae (cloth/rag) and wiped down her table, floors and kitchen desk. It was sparkling clean shortly. 

 

She sighed before the small basket of laundry that stood between her and the completion of her chores. It had not even been an hour; sometimes, she wished she were a housewife, so she could have more to do than just knit. 

She took the laundry basket with all her underwear, undergarments, spare hanbok and socks from the past week and set it beside her by the pond. She would have preferred a larger water source than just a pond, a river perhaps, but alas, she could not use the oasis water. Obviously. 

One by one, she drenched her clothes in water and began to beat them. With strong, firm arms strengthened from years of work, she pounded the clothes to cleanliness and wrung the water out of them to lighten their weight and quicken the drying process. 

It took her a good hour and a half, for she beat, pound and wrung with her hands every garment of clothing with utmost love and care - and when she was done, she carried the now water-heavy basket back to her home and hung up each and every one of her clothes to dry.

 

Only then, was she done - but where her busywork would usually end, it was now kimchi season. 

 

Kimchang - The Ancient, Traditional Won Art of Kimchi Making

 

Cheong-Won hummed a traditional Won folksong quietly as she worked.

 

"새가 날아든다 왼갖 잡새가 날아든다~." (Birds are flying, all sorts of birds are flying~.)

 

With tender hands, she salted the cut cabbage leaves with a small bowl full of salt, pouring it all over the vegetables. She gently yet firmly massaged the salt into the cabbage until it softened before pouring a heavy yet calculated amount of water all over it. Her hands moved by themselves, driven by no more than instinct and years of having done the same thing over and over again over years and years.

 

"새 중에는 봉황새 만수 문전에 풍년새~." The phoenix, king of birds; bird of the bountiful year, bearer of good harvests~.

 

Each gamun (family) had their own formula, their own recipe for making kimchi - and it would be passed down from matriarch to daughter, generations through generations. The An way of doing it had been taught to Cheong-Won since her youth, and as her hands now pressed a wooden plate over the bowl, her mind wandered - from the kind head of the Moon clan, Seong-Hwa-Nim (played by @Aeus), to the pepper and enthusiastic young owner of the Mandu Basket, Nabi (played by @AstriaS), to the warm waters of the oncheon (hot springs) she planned on visiting later.

 

"산고곡심 무인처 춘림비조 뭇새들이~." In a deep valley with high mountains, many birds fly in the forest on this sunny spring day~.

 

Though the sky of the Thirsting Oasis outside was dark, plagued with spirits, the lamp that lit Cheong-Won's maru seemed as bright as the radiant sun on a summer midday back home in Won to her. She gently pushed the memories of the storm she had to cross and the friends she had lost along the way as she set the bowl of salted cabbage aside. A gentle smile rested upon her face as she stood up and stretched her back. Sitting in appadari (cross-legged) for so long, bent over and working on her kimchi, did not take kindly to her back. 

 

"농춘화답에 짝을 지어 쌍거래 날아든다~..."  Birds fly in pairs, singing as though chatting about the pleasant spring weather~...

 

She moved to prepare herself some sweet maeshilcha (plum tea) - the cabbage and the spice paste she had prepared earlier would not be ready to be made to kimchi, put into the jars and left to fertilize in the ground for another two hours. 

 

Cheong-Won sighed contentedly. There was still so much work to do - she wondered how much more she'd have once she went to shijib (got married). 

 

Spoiler

Thanks for reading - I wrote this little piece of RP as an introduction to what it might be like to live in the mind of a Won (Korean) character and encourage you to make one for yourself! The Yulyeong Hosu, our settlement, is just down the road from Numendil, and it is an absolutely stunning build. Even if you don't want to make a persona, please visit sometime! The Won-in culture is rich and diverse, and this forum post aims to give you some insight into traditional Won life and the kind of roleplay you might find yourself in. It's an incredibly unique experience, because our community is so small at the moment - join while it's early and secure yourself a strong place in the Yulyeong Hosu!

 

Feel free to DM me or Aeus if you have any questions regarding the Salamdeul!

 

[Aeus 2653]

Seong-Hwa gives Cheong-Won a passing bow through the day as he came across her doing her work. He smiled as he noticed the town slowly coming to life with the colonists that began to find their way to Childeok. Perhaps more Won-in would join them in the new world, a place filled with new liberties and opportunities one couldn't even dream of in the fatherland.

[Baccaaa 490]

An elven tourist was starstruck by the fascinating architecture, gourmet, clothing, ships and history of the colonists of Childeok. It was like exploring a whole new world and receiving answers about a people only read of in books and ancient missives.