Korean Superstitions

The topic of superstitions came up with a few of my students, and I thought the follow information was irresistible.

Let’s start with what is called a “Bujuk “ A Bujuk is based on Korean Buddism and shamanism. Bujuk, traditionally, is a piece a paper bringing good luck and gets rid of bad luck. People carry it or keep it in their homes for protection. Visitors of Buddhist Temples and Japanese Shrines are welcome to take a Bujuk with them for fortune and glory (name that movie). ‘Fortune and glory kid.’ These rolls of paper are written in many different languages. The common English letters are V, for victory and G for good/great.

My students, Nick and Joel, drew a few Bujuks and told me what different colors signify. If the paper is yellow, it is lucky. It means an old grandmother with a cane, peg-leg and scythe walked over you while you were sleeping – not my idea of luck, but the boys were adamant that it is. If there is red writing I will become a zombie. BAM, just like that, a zombie! There is no other possibility, red Bujuk = zombie, that’s all there is.

The color red is very symbolic, anywhere really, but in particularly here. My first day on the job, I wrote a student’s name on the board with red marker and heard a deep intake of breath from the rest of classroom. Apparently, you only write a name is red if the person is dead. *Note to self. Blushing, I corrected this mistake with a black marker and recommenced my lesson. I couldn’t believe I had blundered so magnificently in the 15 minutes on the job. There was no warning on my pamphlet ‘So you’ve decided to teach English in Korea,’ though of course such pamphlet doesn’t exist. I can still hear, ‘No Teacher, no. Red very bad color.”

So as it stands, it seems to reason that the color red would have a rather large and ominous role in Korean superstitions.

There is a ‘Red Pen’ test for all knew homeowners. Throw a red pen behind you while inside the new (to you) home and it if you hear it hit the floor, no ghost. If there is no sound, it means a ghost caught it. Is it just me, or does this seem like the kind of test Dr. Peter Venkman would ‘perform.’

There is also an Egg-ghost, it’s an egg with feet and ‘strange’ eyes. The only thing that scares the egg-ghost is a frying pan. That made me laugh.

These have been playful and fun, I mean really, a yia-yia with a peg-leg? Really? But I haven’t told you about the Lady with a mask yet. She is someone to avoid at all costs. I’ll explain.

There is a Lady with a mask, and there are two factors that determine your interaction with her. First, the color of her mask. Second, what blood-type you are. For this purpose, I will write about your interaction if she is wearing a red mask during your unfortunate encounter.

She will ask you if you think she is pretty or ugly. There is no way to avoid this question, and whatever your response is, the results are not pretty. If you tell her she is pretty she will rip your mouth into an exaggerated smile. Here’s where your blood type comes into play: if you have A-type blood, the rip is only 1 cm long. Not ideal, but manageable I think, well, at least when you compare it to the other blood types. B-type blood, she will rip your whole face into a big smile, we’re talkin forehead to forehead here. And if you 0-type blood, like me, she will scratch off your face completely. The AB blood types have it easy, you die.

So now your wondering, why didn’t I say she was ugly? You can of course, but you’ll just die afterwards. It’s kinda a no-win scenario.

Her punishments vary depending upon the color of the mask she is wearing. She could use her tongue like a boa constrictor and kill you that way. She could turn you into a vampire or she could make you smell like death.

It seems evident to me that the best course of action is to stay away of this lady, clearly she has some issues.

I don’t want to leave you on a bad note, so I’ll tell you about the Ye-gi-mong ghost, who whispers your future in your dreams. I guess that’s the only way parents can get kids to go to bed after some of these tales.

Korean New Years

I’ve had a lot of people ask me if Korea celebrates Chinese New Year. Being an adopted Korean, I am inclined to report that Korea celebrates Korean New Year.... and then argue that the ‘Sea of Japan’ is misnamed because it is a silly and absurd idea that a country can own part of the ocean, unless that said country is, in fact, Korea. So I openly show my resistance by referring to the span of water between Korea and Japan as the East Sea, but getting back on track...

So, the Korean New Year, it’s called Seollal, and lasts three days. There are a set of rules that determine the actual dates it falls between, something about the moon, bla bla bla, much like Greek Easter, bla bla bla, and this year it fell on February 13, 14 and 15^th. This served me well because I got that Monday off. I slept in, ate fried octopus tentacles dipped in ketchup, sang Barry Manilow in my underwear -- trying to win over the heart of my rooster friend -- all the while, the tv was showing reruns of Smurfs, though of course, entirely in Korean. Now that I’ve burned that image in your mind, I’ll move on to the more sustentative partitions of this blog ;)

Korean New Year is also the Chinese, Mongolian, Tibetan and Vietnamese New Year. According to Wikipedia, ‘[These] commonly used Western name[s] to describe this festival inclusively, although scientifically incorrect, is Lunar New Year.’ Sos you know. Many Koreans greet the New Year by visiting the East coast to watch the first sunrise of the year.

This is a family-oriented holiday. People return to their hometowns to visit with relatives and perform the ancestral ritual, Charye, shown in this image. It is the customary way honoring ancestors. A deep bow of respect, called Sebae, is the formal greeting to living elders. Sabae is exchanged between family members and neighbors along with well-wishes. These are prayers for one’s wishes to be fulfilled or to congratulate one on fulfilled wishes.

*Side note, the color green mean prosperity, so children get money, about $10. Don’t let that fool you into thinking they only get a few bucks. One of my students got the equivalent of a month’s salary!

The New Years garb and grub are also tied to tradition. Many Koreans dress in colorful Hanbok. Hanbok has an interesting history, and since this is my blog and my Wednesday night, I thought I’d elaborate a bit. The literal meaning of Hanbok is “Korean clothing” and is often characterized by vibrant colors and simple lines without pockets. Throughout history, Korea had a dual clothing tradition. Rulers and aristocrats wore foreign styles, while the commoners continued to use a distinct style of native clothing that is known today as Hanbok. There are many variations and combinations of this clothing that has it’s own name, but for the purpose of this brief synopsis, let us celebrate the main idea and not get bogged down with details. So that’s the garb aspect.

As for the grub. Well every student was particularly excited about ddeock. Naturally, I assumed it was some dish with duck in it, but alas, my cunning postulations failed me once again. Damn these etymology traps! Damn them I say! It is a Korean cake made with steamed sweet rice. There are hundreds of different kinds of ddeock eaten year round, but on New Year’s Day, it's a celebratory food ranging from elaborate fruits and nuts versions, to the plain-flavored ddeock used in home cooking. Common ingredients are mung bean, red bean and sweet red bean past, Korean mugwort, jujube and other dried fruits, sesame seeds and oil, sugar, and pine nuts.

And so, in short, Seoullal is a 3-day celebration to honor ancestors and living family life. It is a chance to dress in elaborate Korean clothes and eat comfort food while surrounded by loved ones. And on at least one day, you drive to the ocean or sea, and if that’s not available, to the mountains, and watch the first sunrise as a family. Oh, and if you are a child, you can make a killing. It's easy to understand why this a special holiday for Koreans.

I thought about asking to share part of this holiday with a fellow teacher, but as I came to understand the familial importants, I decided my wild time with Mr. Manalow just may be the beginning of my own Seoullal tradition.