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Dongji has the longest night and shortest day of the year. From this day the daylight lengthens again, so it was seen as a "little New Year."
Dongji, around December 22, has the longest night. Because the sun lengthens again afterward, people of old treated it almost like the start of a new year (Ase).
The cold heads toward its peak, yet the daylight grows little by little. As they said, "Past Dongji, even the greens feel new."
The signature custom is making red-bean porridge to ward off misfortune, eating rice-ball dumplings equal to one's age. People shared calendars and wrapped up the year.
Dongji (Winter Solstice) is the moment the Sun reaches 270° of ecliptic longitude, the winter solstice point. It is as far south as the Sun travels, and from this day it starts climbing back north. · First pentad, 蚯蚓結 — earthworms curl up underground as if tied in knots. · Second pentad, 麋角解 — the large mi deer (麋) sheds its antlers. · Third pentad, 水泉動 — the springs begin to move. The earthworms of the first pentad are the same ones that 'came up out of the ground' (蚯蚓出) at Ipha, now curled at their deepest. The second pentad pairs with the summer solstice's 'the deer sheds its antlers'; traditional commentary classed the mi as a creature of yin, so it drops its antlers at Dongji, when yang is first born. The third pentad means that however frozen the surface, water in the springs underground is already on the move — a reading of yang's return on the longest night of the year. Korea's cold deepens after Dongji, but the pentads note first the turnaround that has already begun inside it.
Around Dongji, winter cod (daegu) is in season, and a clear cod soup simmered with radish is just right. Oysters are plump now, good raw, as fritters or cooked into oyster rice, and winter strawberries come in properly. Because the Sun rides lowest in the sky at the solstice, sunlight through a south-facing window paradoxically reaches deepest into the room. Move sun-loving houseplants close to the window now, and open the curtains wide during the day to let the sun warm the room; drawing them after sunset keeps heat from escaping through the glass and trims the heating bill. New Year's Day falls within Dongji, so if you plan to watch the first sunrise, remember that sunrises come late at this time of year — check the time in advance and dress for serious cold.
Dongji always falls in the eleventh lunar month, which is why that month is called dongjitdal, 'the solstice month'. Even so, what the day was called depended on when in that month it fell: in the first ten days it was aedongji ('child solstice'), in the middle ten days jungdongji, and in the last ten days nodongji ('old solstice'). A widely recorded custom holds that in an aedongji year red-bean porridge is not made, because it was thought to be bad for children, and steamed red-bean rice cake is made instead. Checking which lunar day this year's Dongji falls on tells you, the old way, whether it is a porridge year or a rice-cake year.
| Year | Begins at |
|---|---|
| 2024 | Dec 21, 18:21 |
| 2025 | Dec 22, 00:03 |
| 2026 this year | Dec 22, 05:50 |
| 2027 | Dec 22, 11:42 |
| 2028 | Dec 21, 17:20 |
Winter Solstice is a jungi (中氣) rather than a jeol (節), so the Four Pillars month pillar does not change here. It marks the middle of a season.
Taking Winter Solstice alone: it fell at Dec 22, 00:03 in 2025 and at Dec 22, 05:50 in 2026 — roughly 5.8 hours later. The date jumps back a day in 2028 because that is a leap year, so February 29 falls before the term begins.
By longitude, Winter Solstice sits at 270° and the next term Lesser Cold at 285° — about 15 days apart.
Ward off bad luck with Dongji red-bean porridge
Rest well through the long night
Reflect on the year and plan the next
Keep warm against the peak cold
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Explore related fortunes
Winter Solstice is the 22nd of the 24 solar terms, falling around December 22. The longest night. The day for red-bean porridge, long seen as a "little New Year."
Dongji has the longest night and shortest day of the year. From this day the daylight lengthens again, so it was seen as a "little New Year."
Ward off bad luck with Dongji red-bean porridge Rest well through the long night Reflect on the year and plan the next Keep warm against the peak cold