Gyeonwu & Jiknyeo: The Story of Chilseok in Korea Poster

Once upon a time, the heavenly king had a daughter, Jiknyeo, who was an excellent weaver. Jiknyeo was a hard worker, devoting herself to weaving only and not much caring about her personal life. Therefore, the heavenly king thought it would be great to get her a husband so that she could enjoy more of her life. The handsome young guy, Gyeonwu, was chosen as her husband who lived across the Milky Way and was a cowherd. After the two got married, they seriously fell in love with each other, and completely abandoned their work. The heavenly king became so furious with the couple and ordered his daughter to return to heaven, and allowed them to meet each other only once in a year. It was the seventh night of the seventh lunar month. On July 7th, the couple finally could see each other again, but there was the Milky Way between them and they couldn't cross the barrier. Then, suddenly, tens and thousands of crows and magpies assembled to make a bridge(the bridge is called Ojakgyo) for the separated couple, and they eventually were able to spend a short amount of time together before saying good-bye. The story was originally from China, and it inspired the festivals & traditions related to the story in Korea, Japan, & Vietnam. It is said that it rains on the night of July 7th because the sad couple cry a lot when they have to bid farewell to each other. In astrology, Altair, which is called the Star of the Cowherd, represents Gyeonwu, and the star Vega is called the Star of Jinknyeo in Korea. Chilseok is on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month in Korea, and this is the day when a traditional ceremony is held for the stars that symbolize the annual encounter of the couple.