Author Archives: Daniel Kang

Korean Ritual: Eating seaweed soup on your birthday, leads to a longer life.

In Korea, everyone eats seaweed soup on their birthdays as it brings them a good year and also a long life.

My informant stated that ever since she could remember, her mother would make her seaweed soup on her birthday. She stated that when she asked her mother why every year and on everyone’s birthday they eat this soup, she stated “By eating this soup on your birthday, you will live a longer life.” When I asked my informant where this belief came from, she stated that the long seaweed represents a longer life line. She also stated that pregnant mothers eat this soup once a day for a month during their pregnancy, so that their child will live a long life.

My informant states that she keeps this ritual alive as she makes this soup for her children every year for their birthdays. I believe that this belief came from the nutritional value of seaweed. Seaweed is also a very affordable and cheap food for people in Korea. I believe that in the poorer areas of Korea, seaweed was easily attainable and thus became a staple for birthdays and in general for subsistence. The symbology of eating a long piece of food on one’s birthday to elongate the eater’s life is also a nice symbol.

Dolphins are “good vibes”

My informant stated that surfers believe that when dolphins are seen during a surf session, that means sharks are most likely not present at the time and surfers foresee a good experience in the ocean for that day. My informant stated that when he went surfing at Huntington Beach, a couple of surfers spotted a dolphin literally a foot away from them swimming. They then told my informant that whenever Dolphins around enjoying the ocean, that means they are protected from sharks and will have a good surf session as they have nothing to worry about.

My informant’s take on why he believes this superstition, “It is always eerie when in the ocean alone and the mind always wanders and wonders if there is anything lurking under the water. When one looks for a dolphin and one is seen, it rids of these wandering thoughts and fears. I also like to tell people who have never been surfing before this story, since a lot of people are scared of the ocean and surfing. This story puts them at ease.”

I believe my informant got that basis of this superstition from actual accounts of dolphins saving surfers from shark attacks and also from disasters. There are two popular accounts, one is of a surfer who was bitten by a shark, dolphins soon surrounded this surfer and created a frenzy to keep the shark away from this injured surfer. Another is the story of a surfer who was knock unconscious by his surfboard, a dolphin brought him back to shore. I believe that these surfers got their belief from these stories that influenced this specific protection legend.

The Legend of Turnbull Canyon

My informant told me about this legend of a haunted canyon named “Turnbull Canyon.” This specific canyon is in Whittier and many high schools around this area know about this specific legend. He stated that at his high school Sunny Hills High School, everyone would go to this specific haunted canyon to prove themselves, have a thrill, and sometimes couples would even go there for a night of “romance” per say. This specific canyon includes tales of a abandoned gate with a dark hole within the bricks that hold the gate. Supposedly if you go towards this hole, you will see eyes of a demon as this hole is a portal to hell. Also this canyon is supposedly a breeding ground for Satanists and also white supremacists. There was an incident where either Satanists or white supremacists chained a girl to the back of their car and dragged her down the canyon, dismembering her body. There is also a tree at a specific turnout that  is supposedly haunted as a man hung himself at that spot. If you go to that tree at 2 a.m., you will see the body hanging there. There is also a house which use to be a mental hospital, however a tragedy occurred there. If you go in to this specific house you can see ghosts and hear screams from the tortured patients.

My informant stated that he went to this canyon during high school with his friends as they were bored. He said the personal experience that he had was that he heard noises coming from the house that use to house mental patients. This scared him so much that he drove down with his friends as soon as possible. Another of his friends stated that he saw a group of hooded figures in the woods who seemed to be doing a certain ritual.

My opinion of this piece of folklore is that it is a prime example of a legend quest. High School students around this area would go to this place to have a thrill as they would have story to tell to others about how they survived Turnbull Canyon. What is interesting about this legend is that when I did some research about it, there are incidents of a murder involving a woman found and also a mental institution which burned down. Thus these show where the inspiration for some of the legends came from. However nothing else could really be proven about the occult happenings.

Seeing a deceased family member in your dreams will bring you an untimely death.

In your dreams when you see a deceased family member and follow them, you will soon die and meet them in the afterlife.

My informant was told about this specific superstition when she was in high school. She states that a widow whom she knew saw her husband in her dream and soon passed away from an accident. She believes that this is due to how strong family bonds are in Korea; widows and family members are known to mourn their lost ones heavily in Korea, just like anywhere else. Thus she believes that family members usually follow their loved ones to the afterlife as they want to be with them. She also states that she tells this to her friends and family so that they do not have a similar fate.

I have a different take; I believe that this story is a way of moving on from your deceased family members per say. This story discourages people from sulking or being depressed about their family members for too long. It encourages people to live with the living and not think about the deceased. What is interesting about this myth is that it stays alive due to the connections that are made with people passing away after seeing their loved ones in their dreams. The only explanation for this is the fact that it has to be a strange coincidence.

The Virgin Ghost

Whenever an unmarried woman dies, her spirit is cursed to become a “virgin ghost.” She is forced to roam around, instead of having passage to heaven or having a peaceful afterlife. This ghost is cursed, as no one loves her in the after-life and her appearance also frightens the living.

This story was told to my informant by her friend. They both believed as teenagers that they needed to get married, as they did not want to be cursed as a ghost. She now believes that this was told to encourage young women to get married.  Korean culture wants their offspring to get married as soon as possible. This is due to the fact that in the olden days Koreans considered unmarried bachelors to still be children. My informant also stated that this myth is quite prevalent in Korean television shows that deal with horror aspects.

This is quite interesting as the Korean culture values so much that they are willing to frighten young women in to getting married. What this folklore basically states to Korean women is that, if you didn’t get married you were not wanted, thus in the afterlife you are cursed to frighten people and roam around. Interestingly females ghosts are also prevalent in Asian folklore as menacing creatures, my informant could not give me a reason why to this. It does make sense to me that a “Virgin Ghost” would be lonely in the afterlife as her appearance is frightening. However my informant stated that if the “Virgin Ghost” meets a “ghost spouse,” the spirit will be free to have a peaceful afterlife.