Korea has four distinct seasons. In summer, it is hot and humid. It is a Korean custom to choose the three hottest days of the summer and to eat especially healthy food on those days.
Boknal (복날) is known as the Three Dog Days of Summer. The first day is known as Chobok (초복), the second day is Jungbok (중복), and the third day is known as Malbok (말복). These days are predetermined by the lunar calendar. This year, the first day was on July 13, 2013.
In the past, Koreans used to eat dog soup on these days, but that has become an old tradition. Nowadays, most people eat samgyetang (삼계탕); a soup with a chicken that has been stuffed with garlic, chestnuts, jujubes, and ginseng roots. Admittedly, I ate my soup a day late, but it was good to follow the Korean custom of eating a hot meal in hot weather (also known as i-yeol-chi-yeol [이열치열], “to relieve heat with heat").