Author Archives: Su Young Kim

Explanation for sleep paralysis

The informant is California-born Chinese American. Her parents were born and raised in China, therefore she practices Chinese tradition and values at home. She is familiar with Chinese stories and folklores because her mom told her a lot about those.  She is currently a business student at USC.

Informant: “In Chinese, sleep paralysis is called “鬼壓床 (gui ya chung)” which literally translates into “a ghost pressing on your body.” Chinese folklore says sleep paralysis happens when a ghost, usually ghost of an unmarried women, presses down on your chest. You can’t move, while your mind is awake. You can see, smell, or hear the terrifying intruder, but you are powerless to do anything about it. In China ghosts are interpreted as those who bear large grudge, and therefore can’t go to afterlife because the resentment is too big.  Thus, Chinese people see ghosts as malicious. That’s what makes the experience of sleep paralysis so terrifying.”

“I first had it when I was in 7th grade. I remember hearing about it from my cousin and the mass media. So when I anxiously woke up, I could know right away that I was under sleep paralysis. As I heard, I couldn’t move as if my body was fettered to something. I wanted to scream for help, but my voice didn’t come out. I could hear my heart beating that sounded like footsteps. I didn’t open my eyes, because I was so scared I would see a ghost. I decided to ignore everything and go to sleep. It wasn’t easy because it was quite the mental game trying to remain calm. Eventually, I just fell back asleep.”

“I experienced it two or three more times after that. All those times I kept my eyes shut, so I didn’t see any ghosts. However there was this one time I heard someone breathing, and it was clearly not me, because I stopped breathing to check if it’s me. Even by saying this I am getting goosebumps, haha. It was hard to say I was dreaming, because my senses were pretty awaken. I say biological explanations can not explain every parts of sleep paralysis. I don’t really believe in ghosts, but I clearly know my experience was not fake. So my conclusion is, I guess I do lean towards this folkloric explanation of sleep paralysis.”

Scientists explain sleep paralysis in terms of sleep cycles, REM cycles, and consider it as a simple biological occurrence. It might be purely biological, but how are the terrifying existences going to be explained? Folklores of demonic figures during sleep paralysis is found everywhere on earth. I think defining all those experiences simply as ‘hallucinations’ is too restricting. However, the interesting point isn’t on whether ghostly explanations are true. It’s on how sleep paralysis have been culturally interpreted by many different groups. 

Pen spinning

The informant is California-born Chinese American. She is 21 years old, and she likes being caught up with new trends on mass media. She is currently a business student at USC.

pen spinning

(click the link above to see the informant’s pen spinning skills)

The informant first witnessed pen spinning from a friend in her middle school class. She was quickly mesmerized by the world of pen spinning, and she searched for more on internet. She could find a lot of skilled pen spinners especially on Youtube. She later found out there are several online communities on internet for pen spinners. The community she participated was called ‘Universal Pen Spinning Board.’ The spinners would share various tricks and teach each other how-to’s. They have established their own vocabularies such as ‘inverse twisted sonic,’ ‘TW sonic,’ ‘pass rev,’ etc. 

Starting from the easiest pen spinning move, the informant learned one by one. She said it was hard because she was learning it through internet, and there was no one to correct her. When she acquired few basic moves, she combined two of the moves to create a new move. She didn’t create it intentionally. It just came naturally, as she thoughtlessly exercised and modified some moves. According to the informant, pen spinning is a good way of relieving the boredom, and sometimes it helps her concentrate better. She does it in class, at home, and just anywhere she has a pen in her hand. It became her habit, so she finds herself spinning pens without even noticing.

Pen spinning developed more rapidly with an advent of internet. It is a good example of how internet has created many different groups, which develop traditions as years go by. Activities like pen spinning are not found very prominently, thus such internet groups are essential for the individuals to relate to others and keep developing the culture of pen spinning. New moves are continuously created on hands of many different individuals, both intentionally and unintentionally (variation and multiplication). 

For more pen spinning moves, see The Best of Pen Spinning World Cup 2012

Ji ji bbong

Informant is a Korean international student at USC, majoring in accounting. She is 21 years old, and has lived in Korea until she finished high school. Her primary language is Korean. Her family consists of five members –her mom, her dad, younger brother, younger sister, and herself.

In Korea, there is this children’s game named ‘ ji bbong.’ The rule goes like this: two people unintentionally say the same word at the same time. Who ever says ‘Ji ji bbong’ first gets control over the other’s speech. The looser cannot speak until a third person calls the looser’s name three times. If the looser speaks before his/her name is called, the winner hits the looser according to the number of syllables.

Below is the example (translated into english).

Sophie & Mark: (at the same time) Oh my god!

Sophie: Ji ji bbong!

Mark: (Looks around for people, but there is no one.)

[Few minutes pass.]

Mark: There is no one!

Sophie: there-is-no-one. Four times! (hits Mark four times)

Mark: (finally finds Joe. Mark makes body gestures to Joe.)

Joe: Oh I see what is going on. Mark, Mark, Mark!

Mark: Thank god, now I can speak.

Apparently there are different variations according to where in Korea one is from. The informant lived in Suwon, Korea. However, when she moved to Seoul she found out that kids in Seoul play differently. The winner pinches the looser until the looser identifies seven objects having seven primary colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, black). 

This is a very famous children’s game in Korea. This game is played whenever and wherever, because two people coincidentally saying the same thing at the same time is not a common occurrence.  This game is learned mostly at elementary school years, and elementary school students play this game the most. This game isn’t a traditional children’s game, because apparently it’s my generation and on who know about this game.  Considering the novelty of the game, it is amazing how popular and famous it is. I guess it’s because it is easy to learn and play this game, and the notion of ‘unexpectedness’ adds to the fun of this game.

Nighttime ghost taboos

Informant is a Korean international student at USC, majoring in accounting. She is 21 years old, and has lived in Korea until she finished high school. Her primary language is Korean. Her family consists of five members –her mom, her dad, younger brother, younger sister, and herself.

There are several nighttime taboos. These are not official, traditional taboos established by the Korean government. These were spread among young children in Korea through words of mouth and internet. The informant heard these in her elementary and middle school years. These stories didn’t have a particular time and space where they were told. There were told at random places, at random times, whenever the young school children felt like talking about scary stories.

1. Do not leave your chair untucked before going to sleep.

If you don’t, a ghost will sit there and stare at you through the night.

2. Do not leave the wardrobe door ajar.

A ghost will stare at you through the crevice from inside the wardrobe.

3. Do not pur your hair above your head when sleeping (applies only to girls).

A ghost will sit on your pillow and count your hairs one by one.

4. Do not put your feet outside the blanket.

A ghost will be tempted to grab it.

 

The informant was deeply affected by these stories. From the day she heard these taboos, she tucked in all chairs, closed the wardrobe doors, put hair down, and didn’t put her feet outside the blanket before going to sleep. She was so scared as a young child. Now, as a 21 years old, she doesn’t follow these taboos. However, she follows it whenever she can. It has become part of her habit.

Except for #4, I also have heard of these nighttime taboos. I heard these from my friends at school, when I was going to an elementary school. It would all start with one saying “Did you hear that? you shouldn’t blah blah blah” These stories would always exaggerate and change as it goes. However, I don’t think these specific taboos have changed much compared to common ghost stories. The informant and I went to different elementary schools (She went to the one in Seoul, and I went to the one in Suwon), but the taboos we knew were almost the same. The one thing I observed is that bad luck or taboos are related to the notion of being ‘unorganized,’ such as the messy room and the backward blanket. The act of trying to avoid the nighttime ghost taboos eventually make the room more organized. Even though this ghost time taboos are not traditional folklores, it can be related to Korean society’s willingness to teach discipline to the junior members.

Sleeping with a blanket backwards

Informant is a Korean international student at USC, majoring in accounting. She is 21 years old, and has lived in Korea until she finished high school. Her primary language is Korean. Her family consists of five members –her mom, her dad, younger brother, younger sister, and herself.

 

Superstition: If you sleep with a blanket backwards, you will be falsely charged of someone else’s guilt.

Informant: “My grandma used to tell me not to sleep with a blanket backwards. She told me to put the front part of the blanket to face the ceiling, or else I would be falsely charged of someone else’s guilt. She said this in a stern, serious way. I remember hearing this since I was really young. There was this weird feeling that if I put blanket backwards, I would really be falsely accused of something that I didn’t do. Nothing is wrong with preventing something bad, right? I just didn’t want bad things happen to me, and whenever I realized I put blanket backwards, I corrected it. I really believed in this as a young child. I think I didn’t even question it because it was said by my grandma, who I thought was the wisest person in the world. She even scolded me for not putting the blanket in a ‘proper’ way, so that too made me believe in this superstition. Now I don’t care how I cover myself with a blanket. I am too tired when I go to sleep, so I have no time to think about such stuff. Luckily, I haven’t been falsely charged of anything.”

I have heard of this superstition too. This is normally said to young kids, who are in the process of learning basic how to’s. This superstition basically teaches young kids the proper way of putting blankets, and it helps them learn faster because superstitions are not easy to forget. It’s mostly said in a mother-child, or grandmother-child relationship, therefore it’s implied that this superstition is usually for educational purposes. Korea traditional quilts are very fancy and colorful, that showing the pattern was essential. Therefore this superstition seems like it’s closely related to Korea’s traditional quilts.