Everybody‘s got superstitions.
As kids, we avoided walking on the cracks, in high school we never lit three cigarettes
from one match, and to this day I feel weird if some joker opens an umbrella in
the house. Koreans have plenty of their own superstitions, and they are every
bit as kooky as ours. Some come from shamanistic traditions, others recall Confucian
customs, and others come from God alone knows where…
The Number 4
The
Korean word for ’4‘ (sa), and the Chinese word for death (sa), come
from different Chinese ideograms, but are pronounced the same. That‘s why
you will never find sets of 4 of anything – dishes, glasses, etc. For the
same reason, most buildings (not so much nowadays) never had a 4th floor, or on
the elevator button you would see an F instead of a 4.
Whistling
Koreans
are not keen whistlers. Women who whistle will have bad luck. Mothers used to
warn their children that if they whistled at night, a snake would come into their
room.
Teeth
When Koreans lose a tooth, instead of putting it under
the pillow for the Tooth Fairy, they say you should throw it on your roof.
Twins
If
a woman has twins that are a boy and a girl, Koreans say they must have been a
couple in a former life, and that means bad luck in their future.
Fan
Death
Almost all Koreans believe that if they sleep with the fan on and
the windows and doors closed, they will die. Some say the fan causes its victim
to freeze to death, while others say the fan takes all the oxygen out of the room.
100-Day Birthday
Not a superstition, but a custom. Babies can't
be taken out of the house until after their paek-il (one-hundred-day) party. Also,
no one can see the baby other than the immediate family. This comes from the high
infant mortality rates in the past.
Red Ink
Whether writing
someone‘s name on the board, or writing comments on a student‘s homework,
it‘s best to use black or blue. Apparently, red ink is used for writing the
names of the dead.
Dreams
If you dream of a pig, it is good luck
and means money is coming your way. Other lucky dreams are: a cow walking into
your house, seeing a burning house, or eating raw meat. Some unlucky dreams are:
if you see a dog, if you dream of using a rake or a plow, or dream of being swept
away by water. Losing a tooth in a dream means that a relative may soon die. If
you laugh in your dream, you may cry during the daytime.
Toenail Clippings
If
you cut your toenails after dark, the cuttings can form a harmful spirit. It is
also considered bad luck to scatter your nail clippings. This comes from an old
tale where a rat ate a man‘s scattered nail clippings, transformed into a
replica of the man, and kicked him out of his own house. Also, scattering your
nail clippings is just plain disgusting.
Sing Like a Bird
Eating
chicken necks will make you a better singer. Because we all know what lovely singers
chickens are…
Getting into Seoul National University
Before
taking the entrance exam, steal the "S" from a Hyundai Sonata and you
will be able to get into Seoul National University.
Chopstick Etiquette
You should never stick your chopsticks straight up into a bowl of rice
and leave them standing that way. This resembles the way rice is presented to
the dead and incense in funeral ceremonies as well.
Stepping in Dog
Shit
Trodding on a dog turd is good luck here, as it seems to be everywhere
else. Even luckier for the dog.
On Stamina
Many Korean foods are
believed to be good for a man‘s “stamina,” meaning they°Øre
good for virility. The list of these rod-raising concoctions is long, but some
popular favorites are dog soup (boshintang), bear paw, grilled eel (jangeogui),
which, come to think of it, does sort of look like a…never mind. Insamju
is a stamina drink – an alcoholic beverage that brilliantly combines the
stimulative effects of ginseng (insam) with that effect of alcohol we call whiskey
dick. Use with caution.
Passing and Failing
Koreans often use
bootda (stick) instead of "pass" to talk about passing an exam, and
"slide" instead of "fail." So, you either "stick"
to the exam or "slide" off it. Things that are sticky, like yut (taffy)
are good for students on test day. But things that are slippery, like miyeokguk
(seaweed soup), are never eaten on exam day. Another popular gift is a roll of
toilet paper, together with the advice, jal p‘uleuda (unroll it well). Meaning
that, if you can figure out how to unroll the toilet tissue, similarly you will
figure out the solutions to the test questions.