S. Korea welcomes 2022, Year of the Black Tiger

2022 임인년, '호랑이 기운' 솟는 새해

2021 was the Year of the White Cow,... an animal closely associated with honesty, faithfulness and patience.
Now, we have ushered in the Year of the Black Tiger.
According to our, Choi Min-jung many are looking forward to receiving the tiger's courageous energy,.. with hopes for a better year.
2022 is the Year of the Black Tiger.
It's called Iminnyeon in Korean,… "Im" meaning black, and "in" meaning tiger.
Six months ahead of the New Year,… South Korea celebrated the birth of five tigers.
These 6-month-old baby tigers are very special.
In a very rare case, five of them were born at the same time,… when usually, Korean tigers give birth to only two to three cubs at once.

"It's very fortunate for us to have five newborn endangered tigers at once. We hope people can receive good energy from these Korean tigers and have a healthy Year of the Tiger in 2022."

"The tiger has long been in our lives as one of the animals that represent the Korean identity. From ancient times, the tiger was considered not only a symbol of strength and power, but also a guardian of the Korean people."

Each year is represented by a different animal.
The tiger is the third of the twelve zodiac animals, coming after the cow.

In celebration of the year 2022, the National Folk Museum of Korea is holding a special exhibition that tells many stories of the tiger.

"There are creatures that represent each country. The dragon for China, the lion for Egypt, and there's of course, the tiger for Korea."

In the olden times, the tiger symbolized bravery and has been worshipped as a mountain god that guards the village.
People would have paintings or talismans of the tiger as a tool to defeat misfortune.
In folktales and oral traditions, the tiger was considered a mystical creature that is generous and likes to return favors.

The tiger is still used as a symbol of South Korea today.
It was used as a mascot for international sporting events in Korea,… "Hodori" from the 1988 Seoul Olympics and "Soohorang" from the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.
South Korea's national soccer team, also known as the tigers of Asia,… use a tiger emblem as their badge.
The folk museum has collaborated with video game company Nexon,… so that people can play the game, "The Kingdom of the Winds" featuring a tiger character.

"Since 2020, many people suffered from the pandemic, so we hope that people can get lots of energy from the tiger through this exhibition."

Based on the zodiac animal, some Koreans find fortunetellers to predict what awaits them in the New Year for fun.

"When it comes to the year-end, people in Korea usually follow a custom of unraveling the good virtues and attributes of the animals of that year. In Korean culture, the zodiac symbolizes a person's destiny, and it’s a cultural element for good luck."

One fortuneteller read what to expect for 2022.

"If we were to make an analogy using the sea, the first half of 2022 would be months of big stormy waves. The country may face economic, political, and cultural problems. From July onwards, the turmoil will settle down. Small business owners will recover from their struggles, and COVID-19 will settle down."

Businesses have also been creative to commemorate the Year of the Tiger.
Korea Post has made two New Years' stamps,… one depicting an image of a tiger stretching for a new leap, and a face portraying its courageous energy.
The Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation has also unveiled the 'Tiger Silver Medal',…. the first product in a series of silver banknotes with the theme of the 12 zodiac signs.
It says this was created so people can send meaningful gifts to loved ones in the New Year.
To attract customers,… shops, cafes, and convenience stores have also made special editions of their products and promotions under the theme of the tiger.

"There have been many ups and downs in 2021, with the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. However, many Koreans are still holding out hope for a better 2022."

"2021 has been a difficult year for the public as well as medical staff because of COVID-19. I hope that the pandemic will settle down in 2022, so that people and medical workers can have a better life."

"Medical workers and the city of Seoul are working hard to take care of COVID-19 patients, so we hope that life will return to normal in 2022."

"I want to hit the jackpot in 2022. I really do. This year has been so difficult so I want to sell a lot next year."

"I hope COVID-19 will be over in 2022 and my business goes well. Let's go, Noryangjin Fisheries Market "

Others are hoping the year of the tiger brings happiness for their family and friends.
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#Year_of_the_Black_Tiger #Year_of_the_Black_Tiger #New_Year

2021-01-03, 08:00 (KST)

[jthomas]

Did You Know that the Year of the White Cow was inspired by the Pure White Aurochs which is probably seen in the Cave of Lascaux, Aurochs, an Extinct Wild Bovine which is the Wild Ancestor of the Modern Domestic Cattle that lived in Korea during the Three Kingdoms Period, these Giant Wild Cattle were hunted by the Baekje, Silla, Goguryo Warriors, Ancient Kings and Heros during the Medieval Korean Three Kingdoms Period around 100 BCE to 300 CE, and Their Descendants like the Modern Domesticated Asian Taurine Cattle survived, although the European Counterparts went Extinct for Hundreds of Years, when the last one died in the Forests in Poland in 1627, and Their legacy that when the surviving Asian Taurine Cattle were Domesticated, when Asia's Cattle Farming became less popular.

[pulcifer]

Tigers are among my favorite big cats ever since the Disney villain Shere Khan from The Jungle Book 1967.

These magnificent cats deserve there bloodline to continue as humanity does.

I'd also sugest if scientists could make clones in order to save every species, especially about de-extinction of modern cousins from the past.

Also thinking of building a true time traveling machine to travel to the distant past just collect blood samples from modern tigers' prehistoric counterparts in order to make de-extinct clones of them.