In August there are two of the 24 seasonal divisions of the year: Ripchu and Choso. Ripchu is the time when autumn begins and Choso signifies the time when summer heat begins to abate.
This year, Ripchu falls on August 7 and Choso August 23. In the period, boiling heat begins to lessen, cool wind blows and crops ripen.
In that period, the Korean ancestors pulled up barnyard grass, took steps to prevent damage from birds and animals and mowed grass for the following year's farming. And they paid close attention to planting and tending vegetables for kimchi for winter.
And they had various folk dances and played a variety of folk games, including shoulder dance, handclap dance, drum dance accompanied by farm music, the game of occupying other team’s base and the game between piggybacked players trying to pull each other down on the ground.
They prepared various dishes in keeping with the seasonal features of August, thus making the diet varied. Typical of them is sudan, a kind of rice cake soaked in honeyed water.
As seen above, the Korean people created and have steadily preserved diverse customs to suit the seasonal characteristics of August since olden times.