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Ipdong means entering winter. Ahead of the real cold, people grow busy with kimjang and winter preparations.
Ipdong, around November 7, is the first term of winter. Water begins to freeze and the ground hardens.
The leaves have all fallen and animals ready for hibernation. Cold winds blow and the first ice forms in places.
Many households made kimchi around Ipdong, and there was a custom of treating elders to tonic food. People steamed layered rice cakes to share with neighbors.
Ipdong (Start of Winter) begins when the Sun reaches 225° of ecliptic longitude, exactly halfway between the autumn equinox point (180°) and the winter solstice point (270°). · First pentad, 水始氷 — water begins to freeze. · Second pentad, 地始凍 — the earth begins to freeze. · Third pentad, 雉入大水爲蜃 — pheasants enter the great water and become giant clams (蜃). Water freezing first and the ground following is a sign that runs Ipchun's 'east wind loosens the ice' in reverse. The third pentad belongs to the same family as Hanro's sparrow-into-clam, only now a bigger bird, the pheasant, becomes a bigger clam. The character 蜃 here is the one in the Sino-Korean word for mirage, singiru (蜃氣樓): the word comes from an old belief that a giant clam breathes out vapour that builds towers in the air. The freezing the pentads describe is only a beginning; in Korea, rivers and ground freeze hard much later, around Sohan and Daehan.
Around Ipdong, yellowtail (bangeo) starts to be landed off Jeju and the southern coast, and oysters (gul) come fully into season. It is also yuja (citron) harvest time in the south, so thinly slicing yuja and packing it in sugar to make yujacheong is a kitchen job for this fortnight; kept in jars in a cool spot, it becomes hot citron tea all winter. After Ipdong the days shorten sharply, and in Seoul the sun sets at around half past five in the afternoon. With commutes and school runs now in the dark, a light-coloured coat or a reflective tag on a bag helps drivers see you. In the wardrobe, bring winter clothes to the front around Ipdong, and wash and pack away the autumn pieces that won't be worn in deep winter.
| Year | Begins at |
|---|---|
| 2024 | Nov 7, 07:20 |
| 2025 | Nov 7, 13:04 |
| 2026 this year | Nov 7, 18:52 |
| 2027 | Nov 8, 00:39 |
| 2028 | Nov 7, 06:27 |
Start of Winter is one of the twelve jeol (節) that switch the month pillar in Korean Four Pillars astrology. In 2026 the 亥 month begins at Nov 7, 18:52. Anyone born before that moment carries the previous branch; anyone born after carries 亥.
If your birthday falls near a solar term, the date alone does not settle your month pillar — you need the time of birth as well.
Taking Start of Winter alone: it fell at Nov 7, 13:04 in 2025 and at Nov 7, 18:52 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, Start of Winter sits at 225° and the next term Lesser Snow at 240° — about 15 days apart.
Prime time for making kimchi
Check your heating and insulation
Eat immune-boosting foods
Finish your winter preparations
Adjacent terms:
Explore related fortunes
Start of Winter is the 19th of the 24 solar terms, falling around November 7. Winter begins. The season to make kimchi and prepare for the cold.
Ipdong means entering winter. Ahead of the real cold, people grow busy with kimjang and winter preparations.
Prime time for making kimchi Check your heating and insulation Eat immune-boosting foods Finish your winter preparations