{"id":6352,"date":"2019-07-03T11:02:13","date_gmt":"2019-07-03T16:02:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/korean\/?p=6352"},"modified":"2019-07-03T11:02:13","modified_gmt":"2019-07-03T16:02:13","slug":"superstitions-my-grandmother-believed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/korean\/superstitions-my-grandmother-believed\/","title":{"rendered":"Superstitions My Grandmother Believed"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Before my grandmother converted to Catholicism, she was a devout Buddhist. She insisted that we follow many rules at home, such as never placing the head of spoons upside down, or making sure that we leave our umbrellas on the \ud604\uad00<\/strong> (hyun-kwan<\/strong>: porch) and never to bring them inside or open them in the house.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>

Image by Pixabay<\/p><\/div>\n

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I still don\u2019t understand the reason why.<\/p>\n

Many Korean were mostly derived from \ud1a0\uc18d\uc2e0\uc559<\/strong> (toh-sok-shin-aahng<\/strong>:folk religion). Korean \ud1a0\uc18d\uc2e0\uc559 is close to Shamanism and it is deeply interrelated with \ubd88\uad50<\/strong> (bool-kyeo<\/strong>: Buddhism) as far as I understand. I am not exaggerating if I say that there are a number of Koreans who still believe in those \ubbf8\uc2e0 – from a simple jinx to a serious life rule. I want to share some \ubbf8\uc2e0 you may not have heard of before.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Never place your head towards the north side when you sleep.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Some people, especially my husband, can miraculously tell which direction is north or south without looking at a compass. In general, I am not very good at telling the directions and I blame that on the fact that I am \uc67c\uc190\uc7a1\uc774<\/strong> (woein-son-jah-bee<\/strong> : lefthanded).<\/p>\n

    If I remember correctly, the reason behind this \ubbf8\uc2e0 is because the heads of corpses are supposed to be facing north. I am not sure if this is even truth when they bury the dead in Korea, but my grandmother believed that a person who places their head to the north will die sooner than they should.<\/p>\n

    When I first moved out of my parent\u2019s home and started to live alone in Australia, I was a bit conflicted about whether I should keep following my grandma\u2019s house rules. Was \ud48d\uc218\uc9c0\ub9ac<\/strong> (poong-soo-jee-ree<\/strong>: the theory of divination based on topography) applicable in western counties? Once I stopped thinking about which way my head was pointing, I slept fine. After all, I had no idea which way was north!<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/a>

    Image by Pixabay<\/p><\/div>\n

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    \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a02. Fidgeting while sitting brings bad luck.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    This \ubbf8\uc2e0 is not only from my grandmother. I have heard this from some of my schoolteachers who didn\u2019t like students who couldn\u2019t sit still during class. They would point your behavior out if you restlessly jiggle your legs up and down. They considered this behavior as \uac74\ubc29\uc9c0\ub2e4<\/strong> (gun-bang-jee-dah<\/strong>: being cocky). Either this behavior made them \uc815\uc2e0<\/strong> \uc0ac\ub0a9\ub2e4<\/strong> (jeong-shin-sah-nahp-dah<\/strong>: it literally means that the spirit gets distracted, which translated as it makes them uneasy and agitated), or they truly believe that a person who shakes their legs while sitting will have bad luck.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Never eat \ubbf8\uc5ed\uad6d<\/strong> (mee-yuk-gook:<\/strong> seaweed soup) or \uacc4\ub780<\/strong> (gey-rhan<\/strong>: eggs) before you take tests in school.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

       <\/p>\n

      You need to use your visual imaginary skills to understand, but this is a funny one, if you get it. Since my mother was influenced by my grandmother, she made sure that she didn\u2019t make \ubbf8\uc5ed\uad6dor even any side dishes made of \uacc4\ub780 for breakfast on the days I took tests in school. The reason behind it was that these particular food would make a person to fail on tests because they have a slippery texture, which would make the person \ubbf8\ub044\ub7ec\uc9c0\ub2e4<\/strong> (mee-kkue-ruh-jee-dah:<\/strong> slip on, fail at something) on tests.<\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      \"\"<\/a>

      Image by Pixabay<\/p><\/div>\n

       <\/p>\n

      Not that I believe in \ubbf8\uc2e0, but I probably wouldn\u2019t perform these \ubbf8\uc2e0 on purpose. Have you heard any of these \ubbf8\uc2e0 before? Did you grow up with \ubbf8\uc2e0 or believed in some jinx that may still stick in your head from your childhood?<\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      There are things that I still wonder why my grandmother had us to do, but I believe that she wanted to make sure we were all taken care of.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

      Before my grandmother converted to Catholicism, she was a devout Buddhist. She insisted that we follow many rules at home, such as never placing the head of spoons upside down, or making sure that we leave our umbrellas on the \ud604\uad00 (hyun-kwan: porch) and never to bring them inside or open them in the…<\/p>\n

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