{"id":5947,"date":"2018-08-08T23:30:42","date_gmt":"2018-08-09T04:30:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/korean\/?p=5947"},"modified":"2018-08-08T23:16:33","modified_gmt":"2018-08-09T04:16:33","slug":"tetraphobia-fear-of-the-number-4-in-south-korea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/korean\/tetraphobia-fear-of-the-number-4-in-south-korea\/","title":{"rendered":"Tetraphobia: Fear of the Number 4 in South Korea"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Do you know what tetraphobia means? It means \u2018fear of four\u2019 in Greek: a combination of the Greek words tetra (the number 4) and phobia (fear). You might be shocked to find that tetraphobia is fairly common throughout the many Asian countries such as, China Japan, and Korea.<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 425px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Missing_Floor_4.JPG\" aria-label=\"Missing Floor 4\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  alt=\"\" width=\"415\" height=\"311\" \/ src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/d\/d9\/Missing_Floor_4.JPG\"><\/a><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">\u201c\ub300\ud55c\ubbfc\uad6d \uc6b8\uc0b0\uad11\uc5ed\uc2dc\uc5d0 \uc788\ub294 \ud55c \ubcd1\uc6d0\uc758 \uc5d8\ub9ac\ubca0\uc774\ud130. 4\uce35 \ubc84\ud2bc\uc774 \uc5c6\ub2e4\u201d Image by \ub7a9\uc18c\ub514\uc778\ubba4\uc9c1 on Wikimedia Commons under CC-BY-SA-3.0<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #808000\"><strong><em>4<\/em><\/strong><strong><em>\uc790\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><strong><em>\uae30\ud53c\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/span>(<strong>Tetraphobia: Fear of the Number Four)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>During my recent travel, I noticed there was not a button for <span style=\"color: #808000\"><em>13\u00a0<\/em><\/span><em><span style=\"color: #808000\">\uce35<\/span>\u00a0<\/em>(the 13<sup>th<\/sup>floor) in the <span style=\"color: #808000\"><em>\ud638\ud154\u00a0<\/em><em>\uc5d8\ub9ac\ubca0\uc774\ud130\u00a0<\/em><\/span>(hotel elevator) that I was staying in. The number 13 was skipped, and it went from \u00a0<span style=\"color: #808000\"><em>12<\/em><\/span><em><span style=\"color: #808000\">\uce35<\/span>\u00a0<\/em>(the 12<sup>th\u00a0<\/sup>floor) to \u00a0<span style=\"color: #808000\"><em>14 <\/em><em>\uce35\u00a0<\/em><\/span>(the \u00a014<sup>th\u00a0<\/sup>floor). As some believe the number 13 has the unlucky connotation in the western cultures, many have <span style=\"color: #808000\"><em>\ubbf8\uc2e0\u00a0<\/em><\/span>(superstitions) about the number 4 in <span style=\"color: #808000\"><em>\ud55c\uad6d\u00a0<\/em><\/span>(South Korea).<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #808000\"><em>4<\/em><em>\uc790\u00a0<\/em><em>\uae30\ud53c \u00a0<\/em><\/span>[sa-jja-gi-pi]\u00a0 \u2013\u00a0 tetraphobia: fear of the number four<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #808000\"><em>13 <\/em><em>\uce35 \u00a0<\/em><\/span>[sip-sam-cheung] \u2013 13<sup>th\u00a0<\/sup>floor<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #808000\"><em>\ud638\ud154\u00a0<\/em><em>\uc5d8\ub9ac\ubca0\uc774\ud130<\/em><\/span>\u00a0 [ho-tel-el-li-be-ee-tuh]\u00a0\u2013 \u00a0hotel elevator<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #808000\"><em>12<\/em><em>\uce35<\/em><\/span>\u00a0 [sip-ee-cheung] \u00a0\u2013 \u00a0\u00a012<sup>th\u00a0<\/sup>floor<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #808000\"><em>14 <\/em><\/span><em><span style=\"color: #808000\">\uce35<\/span> \u00a0<\/em>[sip-sa-cheung] \u00a0\u2013 14<sup>th\u00a0<\/sup>floor<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #808000\"><em>\ubbf8\uc2e0\u00a0<\/em><\/span>[mi-shin] \u00a0\u2013 superstition<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #808000\"><em>\ud55c\uad6d \u00a0<\/em><\/span>[han-gook]\u00a0 \u2013 South Korea<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Why do Korean people have \u00a0<\/strong><span style=\"color: #808000\"><strong><em>4<\/em><\/strong><strong><em>\uc790\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><strong><em>\uae30\ud53c\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/span><strong>(tetraphobia)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As I mentioned in the beginning of this post, many Asian countries, including South Korea, consider the number 4 as unlucky. The reason for \u00a0<span style=\"color: #808000\"><strong><em>4<\/em><\/strong><strong><em>\uc790\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><strong><em>\uae30\ud53c\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/span>(tetraphobia) is because \u2018<span style=\"color: #808000\"><strong><em>\uc0ac\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/span>(the number 4 in Sino-Korean)\u2019 and the Sino-Korean word for \u2018<span style=\"color: #808000\"><strong><em>\uc0ac\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/span>(death)\u2019 are homophones.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #808000\"><strong><em>\uc0ac\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/span>[sa] \u2013 \u2018the number 4\u2019 in Sino-Korean<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #808000\"><strong><em>\uc0ac\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/span>[sa] \u2013 \u00a0Sino-Korean word for\u00a0<strong>\u2018<\/strong>death\u2019<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Whether you are living or traveling in South Korea, you will notice <span style=\"color: #808000\"><strong><em>4<\/em><\/strong><strong><em>\uc790\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/span><strong><em><span style=\"color: #808000\">\uae30\ud53c<\/span>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>(tetraphobia) is permeated in many dimensions of the South Korean culture. Especially many elevators in the South Korean <span style=\"color: #808000\"><em>\ubcd1\uc6d0\u00a0<\/em><\/span>(hospitals) do not have the 4<sup>th\u00a0<\/sup>floor; or the English letter \u2018F\u2019 represents the 4<sup>th\u00a0<\/sup>floor in the buildings. People also avoid giving four blocks of\u00a0 gifts for celebratory occasions, such as \u00a0<span style=\"color: #808000\"><em>\uacb0\ud63c\u00a0<\/em><\/span>(weddings), <span style=\"color: #808000\"><em>\uc0dd\uc77c\u00a0<\/em><\/span>(birthdays), and <span style=\"color: #808000\"><em>\uc9d1\ub4e4\uc774\u00a0<\/em><\/span>(housewarmings) <em><span style=\"color: #808000\">\ud30c\ud2f0<\/span>\u00a0<\/em>(parties). I remember how shocked my Korean friend was when she saw a license plate number with 4444 in the U.S.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #808000\"><em>\ubcd1\uc6d0 \u00a0<\/em><\/span>[byeong-won] \u2013 hospital<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #808000\"><em>\uacb0\ud63c<\/em><\/span>\u00a0 [gyeol-hon]<em>\u00a0 <\/em>\u2013 wedding<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #808000\"><em>\uc0dd\uc77c\u00a0<\/em><\/span> [sang-il]\u00a0 \u2013 birthday<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #808000\"><em>\uc9d1\ub4e4\uc774\u00a0<\/em><\/span> [jip-deul-ee]\u2013 housewarming<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #808000\"><em>\ud30c\ud2f0 \u00a0<\/em><\/span>[pa-tee] \u2013 party<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The reason for Korean people\u2019s \u00a0<span style=\"color: #808000\"><em>4<\/em><em>\uc790\u00a0<\/em><\/span><em><span style=\"color: #808000\">\uae30\ud53c<\/span>\u00a0<\/em>(tetraphobia) might sound irrational to your ears, however, it will be helpful for you to understand why there are no 4<sup>th\u00a0<\/sup>floors in certain buildings in South Korea, and why people avoid giving gifts in a group of fours in many occasions. Since many Korean people consider the number 4 \u00a0is associated with misfortunes or death, understanding this aspect of the Korean culture might help you to avoid possible cultural sensitivity.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"color: #808000\"><em>\uac10\uc0ac\ud569\ub2c8\ub2e4<\/em><em>!<\/em>\u00a0<\/span>(Thank you!)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<img width=\"350\" height=\"263\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/korean\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2018\/08\/Missing_Floor_4-350x263.jpg\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/korean\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2018\/08\/Missing_Floor_4-350x263.jpg 350w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/korean\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2018\/08\/Missing_Floor_4-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/korean\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2018\/08\/Missing_Floor_4-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><p>Do you know what tetraphobia means? It means \u2018fear of four\u2019 in Greek: a combination of the Greek words tetra (the number 4) and phobia (fear). You might be shocked to find that tetraphobia is fairly common throughout the many Asian countries such as, China Japan, and Korea. 4\uc790\u00a0\uae30\ud53c\u00a0(Tetraphobia: Fear of the Number Four) During&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"post-item__readmore\"><a class=\"btn btn--md\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/korean\/tetraphobia-fear-of-the-number-4-in-south-korea\/\">Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":142,"featured_media":5958,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[2871,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5947","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-korean-language","category-vocabulary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/korean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5947","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/korean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/korean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/korean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/142"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/korean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5947"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/korean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5947\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5963,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/korean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5947\/revisions\/5963"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/korean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5958"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/korean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/korean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5947"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/korean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}