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Superstitions
from Korea
Jae-Seok
Park, Joy, Hye Young, and Hollie from
Korea
Jae-Seok
Park describes some things that people don't do
today because of superstitions from long
ago.
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Jae-Seok
Park
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There
are two superstitions about good and bad luck that
involve two kinds of birds in Korea. It's up to you
to believe them or not.
First,
if you see crows or ravens when you are leaving
your house in order to go to school or to your
company early in the morning, it means that you
will be in trouble and have bad luck all day--just
for a day.
Second,
if you see magpies or listen to their calls when
you go somewhere, especially early in the morning,
you will have good luck for a day. Magpies mean
really good luck in Korea.
Joy describes superstitions about washing your hair
on the day you take a test, giving shoes as a
present, and seeing a bird called a
magpie.
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Joy
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In
my country, most people believe in superstitions
that have been handed down from a long time ago.
Here are some examples of common ones.
One
superstition about tests says: On the day when you
have a big test, don't wash your hair. People
believe when they wash their hair, their memories
are cleaned by the water. Consequently, people
think they won't be able to remember what they
studied.
A
superstition about couples says: Don't present a
boyfriend or a girlfriend with a pair of shoes. If
you do, your boyfriend or girlfriend will leave
you. So some people believe they will break up with
their girl friend if they give them a pair of
shoes.
There
is also a superstition about the Korean magpie
(bird). People say: If you see a magpie in the
morning, you'll get good news. In Korean folk
songs, there are some stories about this bird.
There is a song about this.
Many
people believe these kinds of superstitions.
Actually, superstitions have many meanings. I don't
believe in them, but I can't ignore
them.
Hye
Young writes about superstitions from long ago that
say what people aren't supposed to do at
night.
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Don't
cut your nails at night.
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In
Korea, there are a few things we are not supposed
to do at night. So when I was young, my mom asked
me not to cut my nails at night. She said, "If you
cut your nails, some animals like mice will eat
your nails, and then they'll become you or they'll
take your spirit." Basically, this belief is from
the past when we didn't have electricity. If we cut
out nails then night then, the room would be dirty
because we couldn't see to clean it. So, we still
don't do that even today.
Similarly,
we don't sing at night. Old people say, "If you
sing a song at night, snakes will appear in front
of you." I think the reason they say that is to
stop you from annoying your neighbors. In the past,
we didn't have soundproof walls or windows. It was
a kind of wisdom.
Hollie
tells about a superstition about the the difference
in ages between a bride and
bridegroom.
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Choose
your spouse carefully.
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In
Korea, when you choose your spouse, you have to be
careful. If you marry someone five years difference
in age, "won jin sal" will bother you.
You'll fight with yur spouse every day, but you
won't get divorced. And, if you marry someone six
years older or younger than you are, "sang chun
sal" will make you strange. You and your spouse
will live happily, but you will always be beggars.
As a result, many Koreans consider four years
difference or seven years difference in age between
the bride and the bridegroom is the best
age.
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