Korean Rice Cake Personality: Which Tteok Is Your Day Master?

Your Korean rice cake personality comes from your saju day master, the heavenly stem of the day you were born. SajuBunny matches each of the ten day masters to one tteok (떡, Korean rice cake): 甲 is garaetteok, 乙 is songpyeon, 丙 is rainbow mujigae-tteok, 丁 is kkultteok, 戊 is sirutteok, 己 is baekseolgi, 庚 is jeolpyeon, 辛 is gyeongdan, 壬 is yakbap and 癸 is injeolmi. Then your strongest element picks the topping.

Why rice cakes? Because tteok is how Koreans celebrate. It is shared at New Year, at Chuseok, at birthdays and at weddings, and it is usually made to be passed around. That felt right for a reading meant to be shared, too. (It is also why SajuBunny’s in-app credit is called tteok. The Moon Rabbit has a type.)

This is a playful mapping, built on saju symbolism and a lot of affection for Korean snacks. Here is how it works.

How the tteok mapping works

A saju chart has eight characters, and one of them is special: the day master (일간 ilgan 日干), the stem of your day pillar. It stands for “you” in the chart. There are ten possible day masters, one for each heavenly stem, and each is a yin or yang version of one of the five elements.

SajuBunny gives each day master a rice cake whose shape, texture or story echoes that stem’s traditional image. Then it looks at which element is strongest across your whole chart and adds a topping:

Strongest element	Topping
Wood	Mugwort
Fire	Strawberry
Earth	Sweet pumpkin
Metal	Sesame
Water	Black sesame

So you might be a “songpyeon with black sesame,” or a “sirutteok with strawberry.” Same base, many flavors.

The ten day masters as tteok

Day master	Element	Tteok	Why it fits
甲 gap	Yang wood	Garaetteok	Long, straight, upright, like a tall tree
乙 eul	Yin wood	Songpyeon	Hand-shaped and flexible, like a vine
丙 byeong	Yang fire	Mujigae-tteok (rainbow)	Bright, colorful, the life of the party
丁 jeong	Yin fire	Kkultteok (honey)	Small, warm, a sweet surprise inside
戊 mu	Yang earth	Sirutteok	Hearty, layered, the classic base
己 gi	Yin earth	Baekseolgi	Soft, white and welcoming to anything
庚 gyeong	Yang metal	Jeolpyeon	Pressed, patterned, clean-edged
辛 sin	Yin metal	Gyeongdan	Little jewels rolled in coatings
壬 im	Yang water	Yakbap	A deep mix that carries many things
癸 gye	Yin water	Injeolmi	Soft, dusted, gentle as mist

Wood and fire rice cakes

甲 gap → garaetteok (가래떡). Garaetteok is pounded rice formed into a long white cylinder. Sliced thin, it goes into tteokguk, the rice-cake soup eaten at Korean New Year. Like 甲, the tall tree, it is straightforward, dependable and grows in one clear direction. Everyone knows garaetteok. It is the upright friend who shows up for every New Year.

乙 eul → songpyeon (송편). Songpyeon are small rice cakes, shaped by hand and shared during Chuseok, the autumn harvest holiday. That fits 乙, the vine: sociable, adaptable, at its best when shared, and quietly skilled at fitting into any hand.

丙 byeong → mujigae-tteok (무지개떡). Mujigae means “rainbow,” and this steamed rice cake has colorful stripes. It is a party tteok, traditionally served at janchi (잔치, feasts) such as first birthdays, 60th birthdays and weddings. That is 丙, the sun, in rice cake form: bright, generous and happiest when everyone is celebrating.

丁 jeong → kkultteok (꿀떡). Kkultteok means “honey tteok.” It looks like a small songpyeon and hides a syrupy center. Bite in and there is a warm little surprise. 丁 is the candle: modest on the outside, glowing on the inside, and the kind of person whose care you notice only once you are close.

Earth rice cakes

戊 mu → sirutteok (시루떡). Sirutteok is steamed in a siru (시루), a large earthenware steamer, and it is regarded as the basic and oldest form of tteok. Layered versions stack rice with adzuki bean powder. 戊 is the mountain, so it gets the hearty, foundational one: steady, reliable and the base that other things are built on.

己 gi → baekseolgi (백설기). Baekseolgi literally means “white snow tteok.” It is a soft steamed cake made of white rice, and on celebration tables it can express a wish for a clean, pure spirit. 己 is the tended field, soft and nurturing, with room for anything to grow. Baekseolgi is the blank, welcoming canvas of the tteok world.

Metal rice cakes

庚 gyeong → jeolpyeon (절편). Jeolpyeon is pounded tteok pressed with a tteoksal (떡살), a wooden pattern stamp, then cut into neat pieces. It is shaped by pressure and comes out crisp-edged and decisive. That suits 庚, raw metal: bold, direct and at its best after it has been put to the test.

辛 sin → gyeongdan (경단). Gyeongdan are small rice balls, often filled with red bean or sesame paste and rolled in black sesame or other powders. They look like a tray of little gems. 辛 is the jewel, refined and detail-loving, so it gets the rice cake that is all about finish and presentation.

Water rice cakes

壬 im → yakbap (약밥). Yakbap, also called yaksik, is sweet glutinous rice mixed with chestnuts, jujubes and pine nuts, seasoned with honey or brown sugar, sesame oil and soy sauce. It is traditionally eaten on Jeongwol Daeboreum, the first full moon of the lunar year. The name means “medicine rice,” but only because honey was once commonly called yak. It is a dessert, not a remedy. 壬 is the ocean, so it gets the deep, dark mix that carries a little of everything.

癸 gye → injeolmi (인절미). Injeolmi is chewy pounded glutinous rice coated in roasted soybean powder or adzuki bean powder. It is soft, it leaves a light dusting on everything it touches, and it is gentle in every way. That is 癸, rain and mist: quiet, sensitive and more present than it first appears.

Toppings: your strongest element

The topping comes from whichever element appears most in your chart. It adds a second flavor on top of your day master:

Mugwort (wood): fresh and green. Mugwort, ssuk (쑥), is a classic tteok ingredient, as in ssuk injeolmi. Adds a growing, forward-looking note.
Strawberry (fire): bright and red. Adds warmth and sparkle.
Sweet pumpkin (earth): golden and hearty, like pumpkin seolgi-tteok. Adds steadiness.
Sesame (metal): nutty and precise. Adds focus and polish.
Black sesame (water): dark and deep. Adds calm and curiosity.

FAQ

How do I find out what Korean rice cake I am?

Your rice cake comes from your day master, the heavenly stem of your day pillar in saju. You need your birth date to find it. SajuBunny’s free “What tteok are you?” page does the lookup for you and adds a topping based on your chart’s strongest element. It is a playful personality snapshot, not a serious reading.

Is the tteok mapping a traditional part of saju?

No. The ten day masters and the five elements are traditional saju concepts, but pairing them with rice cakes is SajuBunny’s own playful idea. Each match is based on the stem’s classic image, like 甲 as a tall tree matching long garaetteok. Think of it as a fun, cultural way to remember your day master, not an old rule.

What if I don’t know my birth time?

You can still get your rice cake. The day master comes from your day pillar, which only needs your birth date. Birth time adds the hour pillar, which can change the element count and so your topping. Without it, the topping is based on six characters instead of eight, which is still a nice snapshot.

What is the most popular Korean rice cake?

There is no single official answer, and favorites vary by family and season. Garaetteok is everywhere at New Year in tteokguk, songpyeon is the star of Chuseok, and injeolmi and gyeongdan are well-loved everyday treats. The good news: every day master’s tteok is a classic, so nobody gets a boring one.

Try it with the Moon Rabbit

Ready to meet your rice cake? Head to What tteok are you? and find your day master’s tteok and topping in seconds. Want the story behind it? Make a free saju card at sajubunny.com.

Saju is a cultural tradition, not a science. SajuBunny readings are for fun and self-reflection, not professional advice.

Sources

For fun and self-reflection. Saju is a traditional way of looking at yourself, not a prediction or professional advice.