Comments on: Ghosts in Korea http://www.rjkoehler.com/2004/12/08/ghosts-in-korea/ Korea... in Blog Format Sun, 12 Oct 2008 21:23:33 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 By: payday loans http://www.rjkoehler.com/2004/12/08/ghosts-in-korea/#comment-9217 payday loans Sun, 23 Oct 2005 03:40:17 +0000 http://rjkoehler.com/?p=1310#comment-9217 payday loans You may find it interesting to visit the pages on discover card cash advance personal loans payday loans

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]]> By: jodi http://www.rjkoehler.com/2004/12/08/ghosts-in-korea/#comment-9209 jodi Thu, 09 Dec 2004 18:16:51 +0000 http://rjkoehler.com/?p=1310#comment-9209 all this talk about ghosts in korea reminds me of a conversation i had this past weekend with a korean friend of mine. this person sort of serves as my encyclopedia to all things korean. whenever i have a cultural question, i ask him and he explains it to me. anyway, during dinner, he asked me if i was married. i told him no. immediately, like all other koreans--especially my bosses--he asked me why. it was here that i complained to him: "why are those the 2 most common questions a foreigner will hear in korea?" and this is what he told me: koreans believe that the worst thing that can happen to a person, is that they will die before getting married. in such cases, the ghosts of these people will haunt the living as they search for their other half. (i guess it's called the "virgin ghost" but it goes hand-in-hand with marriage in korea, the land of love motels...) so, because of this, matchmakers (whether professional or not) are considered to be really good people in korea, almost like saints. so about this whole asking about one's marital status deal: he said that if a person can make 3 successful marriages as a matchmaker, he/she will go to heaven as he/she is doing a great service for the living. he also told me that there have been known instances of koreans conducting ghost marriages--like uniting two spirits in marriage (sounds like an exorcism ritual to me). so because of this belief, koreans tend to ask what foreigners may think of as very personal questions about their marital status. this explains why korean friends have freaked out when the "read my palm." i've been told that according to my palm, i don't have much time left in this world. (well, i don't know if i believe that but whatever--if it happens, there's nothing i can do to stop it.) but the reason they freak is not because i'm gonna die soon, but because i'm gonna die soon and i'm still single. anyway...all this korean ghost talk reminded me of such conversations. from a cultural standpoint, i find such stories fascinating, although i don't believe them myself. all this talk about ghosts in korea reminds me of a conversation i had this past weekend with a korean friend of mine. this person sort of serves as my encyclopedia to all things korean. whenever i have a cultural question, i ask him and he explains it to me.

anyway, during dinner, he asked me if i was married. i told him no. immediately, like all other koreans–especially my bosses–he asked me why.

it was here that i complained to him: “why are those the 2 most common questions a foreigner will hear in korea?”

and this is what he told me:

koreans believe that the worst thing that can happen to a person, is that they will die before getting married. in such cases, the ghosts of these people will haunt the living as they search for their other half. (i guess it’s called the “virgin ghost” but it goes hand-in-hand with marriage in korea, the land of love motels…)

so, because of this, matchmakers (whether professional or not) are considered to be really good people in korea, almost like saints.

so about this whole asking about one’s marital status deal: he said that if a person can make 3 successful marriages as a matchmaker, he/she will go to heaven as he/she is doing a great service for the living.

he also told me that there have been known instances of koreans conducting ghost marriages–like uniting two spirits in marriage (sounds like an exorcism ritual to me).

so because of this belief, koreans tend to ask what foreigners may think of as very personal questions about their marital status.

this explains why korean friends have freaked out when the “read my palm.” i’ve been told that according to my palm, i don’t have much time left in this world. (well, i don’t know if i believe that but whatever–if it happens, there’s nothing i can do to stop it.) but the reason they freak is not because i’m gonna die soon, but because i’m gonna die soon and i’m still single.

anyway…all this korean ghost talk reminded me of such conversations. from a cultural standpoint, i find such stories fascinating, although i don’t believe them myself.

]]> By: Steve http://www.rjkoehler.com/2004/12/08/ghosts-in-korea/#comment-9208 Steve Thu, 09 Dec 2004 14:56:13 +0000 http://rjkoehler.com/?p=1310#comment-9208 One elderly Korean man that I talked to noted that ?€œa long time ago there were many ghosts but now there are only a few,?€? which leads to the question: where did the ghosts go? Actually the question that I get lead to is..."How does he know?" One elderly Korean man that I talked to noted that ?€œa long time ago there were many ghosts but now there are only a few,?€? which leads to the question: where did the ghosts go?

Actually the question that I get lead to is…”How does he know?”

]]> By: Steve http://www.rjkoehler.com/2004/12/08/ghosts-in-korea/#comment-9207 Steve Thu, 09 Dec 2004 12:42:37 +0000 http://rjkoehler.com/?p=1310#comment-9207 Im not versed in Hangul so Im not sure if theres any footnotes to the photo for this article, but if you look closely at the photo, you will notice a number of "orbs" or balls of light swirling around especially on the righthand side. Many ghostbusters or parapsychologists will tell you that these orbs are an indication of ghost phenomenon. Im not versed in Hangul so Im not sure if theres any footnotes to the photo for this article, but if you look closely at the photo, you will notice a number of “orbs” or balls of light swirling around especially on the righthand side.

Many ghostbusters or parapsychologists will tell you that these orbs are an indication of ghost phenomenon.

]]> By: Figbash http://www.rjkoehler.com/2004/12/08/ghosts-in-korea/#comment-9206 Figbash Thu, 09 Dec 2004 10:43:16 +0000 http://rjkoehler.com/?p=1310#comment-9206 I taught for a year at a high school in Gyeongju that was reputed to be haunted by multiple spirits. Originally the school had been located downtown, but about ten years ago the school sold the downtown campus to developers and moved to the base of a hill on the edge of town (very near Kim Yushin's tomb). Of course, being a hill in the countryside, there were a number of graves on the new site that had to be moved, and quite a few that remain in the area behind the school. Since the school is a Christian school, some prayer services were performed when the graves were moved, but it must not have worked for the non-Christian spirits. My students, particularly the ones who lived in the dormitory, reported strange sights at night, and many of them really disliked being in the school alone after dark. Some of my kids counselled me not to go riding my bike home alone from the school at night because my route took me around the base of the mountain. Personally, I never felt anything at the school, but I did have a much scarier (although vague) experience at the Andong Imcheonggak Kunjajeong. I haven't heard of it being haunted, but on one occasion I stopped by just before dusk to take some pictures. I'd been in other areas of town, including the nearby Goseong Yi head house at the same time of night, but this was the only place that had ever felt "icky" to me. In the inner courtyard I found a white dog that came and played fetch with me for a bit, and bizzarely the sick feeling left immediately. As soon as I went out into the outer area though, the feeling returned and stayed with me until I left the compound. Nothing specific though, and a doubtful ghost story. Nobody in town had any ghost stories about the place. There is also a tree growing in the middle of the road nearby (the same road that leads to Andong Dam) that is supposed to house a spirit. When last I saw it someone had hung straw and shamanistic flags on it. I taught for a year at a high school in Gyeongju that was reputed to be haunted by multiple spirits. Originally the school had been located downtown, but about ten years ago the school sold the downtown campus to developers and moved to the base of a hill on the edge of town (very near Kim Yushin’s tomb). Of course, being a hill in the countryside, there were a number of graves on the new site that had to be moved, and quite a few that remain in the area behind the school. Since the school is a Christian school, some prayer services were performed when the graves were moved, but it must not have worked for the non-Christian spirits. My students, particularly the ones who lived in the dormitory, reported strange sights at night, and many of them really disliked being in the school alone after dark. Some of my kids counselled me not to go riding my bike home alone from the school at night because my route took me around the base of the mountain. Personally, I never felt anything at the school, but I did have a much scarier (although vague) experience at the Andong Imcheonggak Kunjajeong. I haven’t heard of it being haunted, but on one occasion I stopped by just before dusk to take some pictures. I’d been in other areas of town, including the nearby Goseong Yi head house at the same time of night, but this was the only place that had ever felt “icky” to me. In the inner courtyard I found a white dog that came and played fetch with me for a bit, and bizzarely the sick feeling left immediately. As soon as I went out into the outer area though, the feeling returned and stayed with me until I left the compound. Nothing specific though, and a doubtful ghost story. Nobody in town had any ghost stories about the place. There is also a tree growing in the middle of the road nearby (the same road that leads to Andong Dam) that is supposed to house a spirit. When last I saw it someone had hung straw and shamanistic flags on it.

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