Patjuk (Red-Bean Porridge)
팥죽
A thick porridge made with red beans; one recorded version of The Sun and Moon Siblings uses it as the food carried home to the children.
Research note · see sources and scope belowOne-Sentence Definition
Patjuk (팥죽) is a Korean red-bean porridge. Recipes and customary uses vary by time and place.
In This Recorded Story
The 1981 Sangju telling says that a widowed mother carries a large container of red-bean porridge home for her children. The tiger takes the food before demanding more from her. The transcript does not identify the meal as a Dongji observance, so this page does not add that meaning to the scene.
A Separate Seasonal Custom
The National Folk Museum of Korea records red-bean porridge as a representative food associated with Dongji, the winter solstice, and describes customs involving eating it or using it around the home. That seasonal record provides broader context, but it does not establish that the meal in this folktale was served on Dongji.
Sources
- Korean Oral Literature Compendium, “The Siblings Who Became the Sun and Moon,” POKS.GUBI.GUBI.1_21487 (the food and its role in this recorded version).
- National Folk Museum of Korea, “Dongji Patjuk” (seasonal custom, kept distinct from the tale).