Korean Taboos

I gathered the following top taboos in Korea on a program which I watched yesterday on Arirang. Aren’t most of them quite similar to Chinese customs?

No. 5 – Unlucky numbers
The number 4 because it sounds like death (very Chinese huh?). The Koreans also dislike the number 9 as it symbolises the ending. For example the age 29 is the end of 20’s before you enter the 30’s.

No. 4 – Things not to eat before an exam
Everyone knows Korea has one of the toughest university entrance exams in the world. And they also have some taboos on what not to eat before exams. Seaweed is a no-no because it’s slippery. In Korean, stick = pass and slip = fail. Students will also not eat banana, as the banana skin is slippery! They would also avoid eggs or doughnuts since these look like the number zero! In fact they will not eat anything round during a run-up to an exam.

No. 3 – Things not to do at night
Don’t these sound so Malaysian?
Do not whistle to avoid an encounter with snakes.
Do not sweep after dark as this will sweep the Gods away. (Koreans believe than the nights belong to Gods).
Do not trim your fingernails, as this practise is part of a funeral ritual.

No. 2 – Mind your spoons & chopsticks
In Korea, it is considered rude to stick your spoon or chopsticks into rice. This is part of some ancestral ritual, pretty much like the Chinese! Also you are not supposed to place your spoon upside down as this means that you refuse to eat what is served to you.

No. 1 – The colour ‘red’
Do not writer your name with red ink. This is because when someone dies, a person’s name in the register is crossed out with red ink! Although the modern register in Korea is computerised, they still use red letters to indicate removal of the name of a deceased! Do you also know that until recently, the colour red is considered taboo? This changed after the 2002 World Cup when red was used to symbolise the Korean spirit. Nowadays, red has become auspicious in Korea!


Besides watching the program on taboos, I also watched a Korean film called ‘Perfect Roommate’. It was a story about a lady writer who just got a new roommate (actually a housemate) who is a nice and attentive guy. The guy was the perfect housemate as he cooks, takes care of the house and took good care of her as well. Now, the lady has a boyfriend (who’s married), i.e. they are in a complicated relationship. In one rendezvous the boyfriend met the new roommate and since then avoided her! It turned out that the boyfriend had a homosexual relationship with the ‘perfect roommate’ at one time. And the perfect roommate was not really that perfect as he is staying with the lady with an ulterior motive! The ending was quite sad but in case any of you are interested to watch, I’ll avoid spilling out the beans.