At South Korea’s Bosingak New Year’s Eve ceremony in Seoul, the bell is traditionally struck 33 times.
Bosingak is a historic bell pavilion in Jongno, central Seoul. On New Year’s Eve, a ceremonial striking marks the transition into the new year, and large crowds gather in the surrounding area for the countdown and public festivities. The ceremony is one of Seoul’s best-known annual traditions.
The number 33 has historical and symbolic associations in the Korean ceremony. The bell was traditionally rung 33 times at dawn, a practice connected with an old capital-city signal and the 33 heavens in Buddhist cosmology. The modern midnight event preserves that number in a highly visible civic celebration.
Bosingak is sometimes confused with Japan’s Joya no Kane ritual, which uses 108 strikes. Both involve bells and New Year’s Eve, but they belong to different cultural traditions and use different numbers. Bosingak’s bell is also a specific historic object and landmark, not simply any bell in Seoul.