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Soseo means "lesser heat," when summer's heat begins in earnest. It is also the height of the monsoon season.
Soseo, around July 7, is when the heat intensifies. The monsoon front brings heavy rain.
Hot, humid weather continues and crops grow fast. Food spoils easily during this time.
Seasonal vegetables and wheat foods were plentiful, so people enjoyed noodles and dumpling soup. They kept up summer tonics like croaker and fruit.
Soseo (Lesser Heat) begins when the Sun reaches 105° of ecliptic longitude, fifteen degrees past the summer solstice point. · First pentad, 溫風至 — warm winds arrive. · Second pentad, 蟋蟀居壁 — crickets settle into cracks in the walls. · Third pentad, 鷹始摯 — hawks begin seizing prey in earnest. Crickets are usually thought of as autumn creatures, but Soseo's second pentad is read as describing crickets still sheltering in wall crevices, before they head out to the fields to sing. In other words, the crickets of autumn nights are already growing in midsummer. The 摯 of the third pentad means to seize, so the sign says hawks start swooping on prey in earnest. In Korea, Soseo tends to coincide with the stretch when the monsoon front swings back and forth and brings heavy rain, so a 'damp wind' feels more accurate here than the pentads' 'warm wind'.
Chobok, the first of the three 'dog days' (bok), always falls within Soseo: it is the third gyeong (庚) day after the summer solstice, which places it between July 11 and 20. If samgyetang feels too heavy, a lighter bok-day table works too — barley rice mixed with young-radish kimchi (yeolmu kimchi) and a cold cucumber soup on the side. Waxy corn starts to arrive after the new potatoes, and eggplants and perilla leaves become plentiful. With the monsoon in full swing, the moisture absorbers in wardrobes fill with water quickly; replace them once around Soseo, and stuff leather bags and shoes with newspaper and keep them somewhere with airflow. Downpours are frequent in this period, so on days with heavy-rain forecasts make a habit of avoiding riverside paths, underpasses and valley campsites, and check your local authority's closure notices.
| Year | Begins at |
|---|---|
| 2024 | Jul 6, 23:20 |
| 2025 | Jul 7, 05:05 |
| 2026 this year | Jul 7, 10:57 |
| 2027 | Jul 7, 16:37 |
| 2028 | Jul 6, 22:30 |
Lesser Heat is one of the twelve jeol (節) that switch the month pillar in Korean Four Pillars astrology. In 2026 the 未 month begins at Jul 7, 10:57. Anyone born before that moment carries the previous branch; anyone born after carries 未.
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 Lesser Heat alone: it fell at Jul 7, 05:05 in 2025 and at Jul 7, 10:57 in 2026 — roughly 5.9 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, Lesser Heat sits at 105° and the next term Greater Heat at 120° — about 15 days apart.
Mind food safety and hygiene in the rainy season
Enjoy seasonal vegetables and noodles
Manage humidity for comfort
Begin summer tonic foods
Adjacent terms:
Explore related fortunes
Lesser Heat is the 11th of the 24 solar terms, falling around July 7. The "lesser heat" begins. With the monsoon, full midsummer heat sets in.
Soseo means "lesser heat," when summer's heat begins in earnest. It is also the height of the monsoon season.
Mind food safety and hygiene in the rainy season Enjoy seasonal vegetables and noodles Manage humidity for comfort Begin summer tonic foods