Thread: What Do You Find Strange in Your Own Culture?

What strikes you as unusual about your own culture?

Korean Superstitions
Oh Koreans, why you so crazy?

1. FAN DEATH
A common Korean superstition is that you should NEVER ever leave a electric fan running in an enclosed room with the doors and windows closed because you will die from suffocation or hypothermia. The idea became so prevalent that companies that made electric fans started incorporating timers on their fans so that the fan could turn off by itself why you were asleep.

2. Shaking your legs
You should only do this if you want to be poor. Koreans believe(also a common Chinese superstition as well) that when you shake your legs, you're shaking out your fortune. Why? Korean culture believes that gold and prosperity lie within your legs.

3. Butterfly/moth + eyes = blindness
Not as common as other superstitions. You should never touch a moth or butterfly and then rub your eyes because you will become blind. It has some credibility since you can infect your eye in this manner, but blindness is taking it a bit far.

4. Only eat sticky stuff on exam days.
Exams are very important in Korean education. Your future rests solely on a single exam after you finish high school, and decides which college you can get into. People literally kill themselves when they score badly. The idea behind this superstition is that you should eat sticky foods so that all the knowledge you learned will remain in your head. YOU FAILED THE EXAM??!!?!? Did you eat soup? That stuff will make all that information slip out of your head. So will using conditioner on your hair. So slippery. Oh yes, don't eat bread either. The Korean word for bread is "bbang" which also happens to be the word for 0. So you'll probably get a 0 on that test. Way to go.

5. Leave a mess when you move homes.
You shouldnt sweep the floors and don't pick up any trash either. That way you'll trick the evil spirits from following you since they'll think you still live there.

6. Don't trim fingernails at night.
Because mice will eat them and then steal your form and suck out your soul.

7. Don't whistle at night.
You'll attract ghosts and snakes to your home. Oh and you'll probably piss off your neighbors.

8. People with moles or beauty marks near the mouth.
Always be on the lookout for these people. They're supposed to be super flirtatious and cheaters.

9. Writing names in red.
Koreans traditionally wrote the names of the dead in red. So its ultimately viewed as the kiss of death. A teacher did this on a assignment of mine once and my mom went berserk. Let's just say that the teacher threw away all her red pens and only graded in purple the rest of the year.

10. Don't jump over your baby.
Besides the fact that this is poor parenting, you'll also stunt your child's growth. Makes sense.


Source: QUORA

In China long fingernails are considered as an indicator of status and prestige.

Lack of culture

You know, I have never thought about the cultural traditions of different peoples, but I have always been attracted to the cultural heritage in the form of paintings by famous world artists. It is a real asset of the whole world. Recently I bought a reproduction of napoleon crossing the alps painting written by a very talented artist online art gallery. I recommend everyone to start taking an interest in painting and studying culture.