Superstitions

My co-teacher, Ms. Park, and I did a lesson on Island of the Blue Dolphins this week that focused on superstitions. I talked to the class about common American superstitions (walk under a ladder and you'll have bad luck; break a mirror and you'll have seven years of bad luck, etc.), and then I asked them to brainstorm in groups and list common Korean superstitions. Superstitions are not universal, as I learned. Pretty much all of our superstitions were unfamiliar to them and all of theirs were unfamiliar to me.

So, now, for your edification and enjoyment, I present to you some Korean superstitions:

-Do not sleep with your head facing toward the north. The northern part of a city is where people bury their dead, and you don't want your head facing toward the dead. Also, the north of the country is colder and spirits are similarly cold, so if you sleep facing north you are basically inviting the icy grip of spirits or ghosts to come and get ya.

-Do not write your name in red; if you do, you will die. I got various reasons for this superstition. Basically, it has to do with some king or overlord during the Joseon Dynasty writing people's names in red that he wanted disposed of.

-Do not clip your nails at night. If you do, a mouse will come, eat your nail clippings, and turn into an evil-doing clone of you. Obviously.

-If a young girl wants to know what her future husband will look like, she must look into a mirror at midnight with a knife clenched between her teeth. If she accidentally drops the mirror and shatters the glass, her husband will be uuugggly.

-Do not eat seawood soup before a test, because seaweed is slippery and you don't want your knowledge slipping away.

-Do not wash your hair before a test because your knowledge will be washed away.

-Do eat some sticky kind of candy/cookie thing before a test because it will help the knowledge stick.

-Do not whistle at night--if you do, snakes will appear.

-Magpies are good luck; crows not so much.

-When a family returns from a funeral, they must throw salt at each other before they enter their house to rid themselves of the spirit of the dead person who might have decided to follow them home and wreak havoc.

-At mealtimes, you should not finish your food; if you do, you will become poor. The reason for this is because only rich people can afford to waste food, so if you act like a poor person (eating every morsel), then you will become one. It's science, folks.

-If you dream about pigs or ancestors, you will somehow get money. I'm not sure why it's pigs and ancestors...I wonder if an ancestor who has pig-like features gets you double the money. Fingers crossed.

-If you dream of falling off a cliff, you will grow tall.

-You should never wear white ribbons or barrettes in your hair. White is the color worn at funerals, and you do not want to invite death by wearing the inappropriate color.

-The number 4 is a very bad number, much like our number 13.

-If a child loses a tooth, it must be thrown on the roof (the tooth, not the child).

-When you get a new car, you should buy a pig's head, have a feast, and bow to the pig head repeatedly. You do all this to bless the car and to keep you safe when you drive it.

And there you have it.