What is Gaego (Vault Opening)?
Gaego means 'opening the vault' and specifically occurs during Bungchung (Earth-Earth clashes: Jin-Sul, Chuk-Mi). The four Earth branches (Jin, Sul, Chuk, Mi) are storage vaults containing hidden stems. Jin stores Water (Gye), Sul stores Fire (Jeong/Sin), Chuk stores Water/Metal (Gye/Sin), Mi stores Wood/Fire (Eul/Jeong). When a Bungchung clash opens the vault, these hidden stems become active and available — potentially changing the element balance dramatically. Gaego is considered activation, not destruction, making it fundamentally different from non-Earth clashes.