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Superstitions
from Korea
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.
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.
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.
N Korea, when you choose
your spouse, you have to be careful. If you marry someone five years
difference in age, "won jinn sal" will bother you. You'll fight with
your spouse every day, but you won't get divorced. And, if you marry
someone six years older or younger than you are, "sang chum 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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