A dream is worth a million won
Narayanan Kannan
in Korea Herald Nov.12,2009
When Lee Yeong-hoon woke up one morning, the first decision he made
before even getting out of bed was to buy a lottery ticket.
"My deceased grandmother showed herself in my dream, as healthy and
happy as ever," said the 30-year-old resident of Seoul. "I felt that
the dream would bring me luck in some way."
Park Hye-lim, a 28-year-old woman, also bought a lottery ticket,
encouraged by a dream.
"A close friend of mine recently dreamt of me holding a pig, so I
bought in to the dream," Park said. "In order to validate my luck, I
even sent 1,000 won to her bank account."
Pig dreams have been regarded in traditional Korean folklore as
harbingers of good luck, especially in the financial sense. According
to one version, the symbolism originates from pigs' gluttonous way of
eating, which reminded people of money-grubbing.
Signs of blood, fire or floods, which would normally be considered
negative, are also accepted as auspicious when seen during dreams.
The good luck that dreams are believed to portend is not limited to
lottery predictions. Conception dreams, or "taemong" in Korean, are
also taken quite seriously by would-be parents or grandparents.
In the old days, it was commonly believed that dreams of divine
animals such as dragons or phoenixes predicted the birth of a hero and
that dreams of peaches or flowers portend the birth of a girl.
"Though we do not exactly believe in such folklore anymore, I think
that the fortune wishing culture is still deeply rooted in Korea,"
said Lee Hye-ran, a 28-year-old mother-to-be.
"In my case, my mother-in-law dreamt of a tiger shortly before I found
out about my pregnancy and she rejoiced over the good luck the dream
stood for."
Every culture has its own traditions and folk beliefs, but Korea
especially places much focus on the significance of dreams.
Among 294 lottery winners last year, 103 or 47 percent said they had a
dream related to their deceased ancestors, according to the lottery
committee of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance earlier this week.
Some 10 percent said they dreamt about water or a large fire, which
traditionally indicates fortune, said officials.
Lottery purchasing for such dream-based reasons, of course, did not
necessarily result in winning, but nevertheless, 22 percent of the
winners suddenly decided their purchase because of the dream they had
the night before.
"The concept of 'bok,' or fortune, is a crucial element in traditional
Korean culture," said an official of the Korean Folk Religion
Institute. "That, together with Confucianist respect for the ancestors
and the oriental awe for divine animals, has led to this unique
folklore about dreams."
By Bae Hyun-jung
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2009/11/12/200911120039.asp
K R A Narasiah
When interviewed in Singapore someone asked me as to why I have given importance in my stories to beliefs
I said if you are put in a small ship and sent to the equator you will also start believing. Disbelief is the luxury of people living within safe four walls!
Narasiah
Narayanan Kannan
Disbelief is the luxury of people living within safe four walls!
K.>
chithan prasad
From: K R A Narasiah <naras...@gmail.com>
To: indic...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Wed, 11 November, 2009 7:00:34 PM
Subject: [Roots:78] Re: A dream is worth a million won
Note: Forwarded message is attached.
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