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Hi, I am interested in knowing about supersitious beliefs in different coutries in Asia.
Do you think your country is superstitious? Can you give me any examples?
I am Korean, and Koreans are very superstitous.
For example, we place high value in dreams.
We believe that the first dream of the year on the night of January 1st is a reflection of the year to come, and when you have a good dream (for example, when you dream of pigs or poo... it means you will accumulate wealth in the coming year) people someties actually "sell" them for money to another person who wants it. The good luck will transfer to the buyer.
All the dreams have a meaning, good or bad, and the list of association is quite extensive.
Another that comes to mind is that when you loose a tooth in your dream, it means that somebody you know will die in the near future, depending on the position of the tooth lost. This dream is quite accurate, according to many.
Also when we see an ancestor in a dream we believe that they visit us to warn about something bad that will happen in the near future.
Koreans also believe in ghosts and spirits, and we have A LOT of different varieties.
A woman who dies a virgin becomes a ghost and haunts men only to kill them to keep her company, is one type of ghost and is called "cheo nyeo gwui shin" -- literally virgin ghost.
Most Koreans practice shamanism too, and while they may be Chirstian or Buddhist, they will still visit a shaman once in while to ask the shin (a spirit god) for guidance.
Taiwanese people are SO superstitious.It gets really annoying sometimes.Most of the superstitions come from the ancient Chinese customs.The aborigines have their superstitions but I'm not familiar with them.
If you come to Taiwan you'll find a ton of temples,the size ranges from a tiny little space worshiping Tudi Gong,to a palace occupying a hill that attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists and the superstitious believers.People pray to them for better grades at school,college entrance exams,relationships etc,and if the prayers work,they'd go vegan for a year or something to "thank" the gods.It's kinda funny tbh.
There are more ridiculous ones,like 4 is a bad number,don't open your umbrella within the house because ghosts will come after the opened umbrella,don't get married when you're 19,29,39,or 49 because the marriage would flop if you get married in one of the "nines".We have this ridiculous calendar,it's like a special horoscope journal that updates yearly,and it tells people that this day is a bad day to do a certain numbers of stuffs(get married,cut your hair,funerals etc) so do those in that day.
Oh and we also believe that the number of strokecounts of our names mean something as well.
Anyway these superstitions are not going anywhere anytime soon,even the younger generations believe in many of those,but most of them are not that bothersome,some are even worth researched and digged into.I've heard of some scholars that specialize in the superstitions and customs of Taiwan because they are pretty unique and Taiwanese authorities don't control people's religions and beliefs like many other Asian countries do.
Taiwanese people are SO superstitious.It gets really annoying sometimes.Most of the superstitions come from the ancient Chinese customs.The aborigines have their superstitions but I'm not familiar with them.
Very interesting.
I guess it's what makes a culture interesting.
South Korean youth is also very superstitious, and when I have a good dream I tell my friends and they sometimes fight over who can buy it and go into a bidding war. Must look crazy to an outsider.
Do Taiwanese practice feng sui as well?
Very interesting.
I guess it's what makes a culture interesting.
South Korean youth is also very superstitious, and when I have a good dream I tell my friends and they sometimes fight over who can buy it and go into a bidding war. Must look crazy to an outsider. Do Taiwanese practice feng sui as well?
Yes,sure.Almost everybody buys it and they always associate bad luck with bad feng sui
Singaporeans are not very superstitous in general..
Need me to elaborate more ?
Some are. My grandmother is, she spends a lot of time chanting to keep away evil spirits.
I went to an aquarium store in Mandai. There was an Asian Arowana (also known as a dragon-fish). Guess how much it cost? $8,888. Quite a few of the prices had '8' in them. Some people consider living on the 8th floor, or having 8 in one's number plate, lucky. Likewise, some avoid the number '4.'
Very interesting.
I guess it's what makes a culture interesting.
South Korean youth is also very superstitious, and when I have a good dream I tell my friends and they sometimes fight over who can buy it and go into a bidding war. Must look crazy to an outsider.
Do Taiwanese practice feng sui as well?
What if someone "sells" a dream that is just made up? Is there some evil thing that will happen to such a person? What prevents people from lying and making money out of it?
Despite the secular exterior religion is still quite entrenched in Singapore. Not just Chinese Taoist/Buddhists but Muslims, Hindus, Christians too.
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