Fortune-telling and superstitions in dramas

Saju means the four pillars of a person's birth: the year, month, day and hour. Written as eight characters, they are called palja, and interpreting them to read someone's character or fortune is called a saju reading. Dramas often feature lines like 'Her fate is tough' or 'Let's go get our saju read.'

Gunghap is a reading that compares two people's saju to see how compatible they are. In the past it was common for elders to check it before a wedding, and dramas use a bad gunghap as a reason for parents to oppose a marriage. Today many people see it as entertainment, and most do not treat it as a condition for marrying.

Tojeong Bigyeol is a book for reading one's fortune for the coming year, traditionally attributed to the Joseon scholar Yi Ji-ham, known by the pen name Tojeong. In the past, families often consulted it at the start of the new year. Today people tend to enjoy it lightly, much like horoscopes in newspapers or online.

Yes. Korea has cafes where you can have tea while getting a saju or tarot reading, and young people sometimes visit them for fun. In dramas they often appear as places where characters share worries about love or careers. It is best to treat readings as entertainment and make important decisions for yourself.

A mudang is a Korean shaman, seen as a mediator between spirits and people, and a gut is the ritual in which the shaman sings and dances to honor spirits, pray for blessings or comfort the dead. Films and dramas often use these scenes for mystery or horror, but shamanism is a long-standing traditional belief. It deserves the same respect as any faith.

The Sino-Korean reading of 4, sa, sounds the same as the character for death, so some people consider it unlucky. That is why elevators in some buildings label the fourth floor with an F instead. Not every Korean minds it, and it is not a rule anyone has to follow.

There is a Korean superstition that writing a living person's name in red ink brings bad luck. It is often explained by an old custom of writing the names of the deceased in red. Although it is just a superstition, writing other people's names in black or blue is the considerate choice.

Because seaweed is slippery, there is a superstition that eating it will make you slip, meaning fail, on an exam. Dramas sometimes show families avoiding seaweed soup before a big test. Interestingly, the same soup is traditionally eaten on birthdays, so its meaning changes with the situation.

Sticky foods like yeot, a traditional taffy, and chapssaltteok, glutinous rice cakes, symbolize sticking to the exam, which in Korean slang means passing. Around the college entrance exam, dramas show people giving these treats or small good-luck gifts to students. Nowadays gifts have become more varied, including chocolate and stationery.

In Korea there is a belief that dreaming of a pig signals incoming wealth. So dramas often show a character buying a lottery ticket after a pig dream, usually for laughs. Some people also consider dreams about ancestors or fire to be lucky, but these are all things people share for fun.

A taemong is a conception dream believed to foretell the arrival of a baby, usually dreamt by the mother or another family member. Some people guess the baby's sex or personality from the animal or fruit in the dream, though there is no scientific basis. Dramas often include it in scenes announcing a pregnancy or in family stories.

The idea that sleeping in a closed room with an electric fan running can be fatal, often called fan death, was a long-standing belief in Korea, but the general view is that it has no scientific basis. Dramas and variety shows sometimes mention it as a joke. If you feel unwell in hot weather, though, seek medical help or call 119.

A Korean superstition says that whistling at night attracts snakes or ghosts. One explanation is that adults used it to keep children quiet after dark. In dramas it shows up in warm scenes of elders scolding kids, or as a device in horror stories.

There is a Korean superstition that stepping or sitting on a munjibang, the raised threshold between rooms, makes good fortune leave the house. It is said to come from an old way of life that treated boundaries within the home with care. Since many modern homes have no raised threshold, it now mostly appears as an elder's old saying in dramas.

Son refers to a spirit believed to cause trouble, and a day without son is considered a good day for big events like moving house or weddings. These are usually days in the lunar calendar ending in 9 or 0. You often hear that moving companies get especially busy on such days.

Ddi links each birth year to one of twelve animals, such as the rat, ox and tiger, so the same animal returns every 12 years. Asking someone's ddi is a natural way to guess their age, and it also comes up in fortune and compatibility talk. People disagree on whether the animal changes at the solar new year or at the lunar new year.

Samjae is a period of bad luck believed to come for three years out of every twelve, depending on your zodiac animal. In dramas, elders may warn, 'This is your samjae year, so be careful,' or hand over a protective talisman. It comes from folk belief, and how seriously people take it varies greatly.

Yes, there is a superstition that if you give your partner shoes, they will walk away from you in them. Dramas sometimes show a character jokingly worrying about it, or paying a coin so the shoes count as bought rather than given. In reality, many people do not take it seriously.

In Korea there is a belief that a magpie calling in the morning means a welcome guest or good news is coming. Magpies have long been seen as lucky birds and appear often in folk paintings and children's songs. Dramas sometimes add magpie calls just before a long-awaited visitor arrives.

It varies greatly from person to person, and many people treat superstitions as a bit of everyday fun or as sayings passed down from elders. Dramas may exaggerate these elements to make stories more entertaining. It is best not to assume from drama scenes alone that all Koreans believe in them.