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Korean Beliefs – Fact or Fiction?
In any culture there are certain beliefs that many citizens hold to be true. In western countries we label most of these as “old wives tales.” The same holds true for Korea. Below are just 4 that I know of that have been told to me directly by a Korean or I have read about.
Any others you can add to the list?
1. Fan Death - the belief is that if you run a fan in a closed room you will die.
2. Death by Air Conditioning – the belief of being frozen to death in a closed room while running the AC.
3. Americans are responsible for introducing the “infectious agents” that cause food poisoning in the 1970s as told to me by a Korean Medical Doctor
4. “Foreigners can make the sauna dirty and there is also the problem of AIDS, so Korean guests will feel unwelcome and foreigners are therefore not allowed in at all” – An employee at a sauna in Busan refusing to allow a foreign customer to use the facility. The case is now under investigation by the National Human Rights Commission.
Enjoy and discuss.
William
Replies to This Discussion | 이 토론에 대한 답글들
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Permalink Reply by Simon Hoggett on -
Hi William. I think you the topic is a little confusing since it combines superstition with negative stereotype. Which are you looking to add to?
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Permalink Reply by Steven S. Bammel on -
I often suspect there's a propaganda factor to it, too. What better way to have reduced electricity consumption during the days when Korean was trying to keep consumer consumption down than to come up with theories like #1 and #2?
As you pointed out, as I see it, #3 and #4 though would be different. And my burned meat example below doesn't seem to be conspiracy or stereotype; just an interesting superstition.
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Permalink Reply by Steven S. Bammel on
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To clarify #1, the idea is that apparently you can die by running the fan full-on the face, not just a matter of running it in the room. From what I heard, it apparently creates some kind of differential in the temperature or pressure of the blood (or something) that can cause a stroke (or something...)....
Another one to add to the list: Eating burned meat causes cancer.
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Permalink Reply by Youngil Ely Loew on -
I lived with a Korean family when I was 14. It was so hot, so we had to leave to the bedroom open every night in order to have the fan running. I never questioned this, and had no idea it was a 'Korean' concept... until I read this post, I just assumed it was a fact of life! Pretty funny :)
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