Text: My family informant told me about a long-standing superstition among Koreans, in which having a dream about a pig is viewed as an omen for good luck, particularly for money.

Context: This superstition was told to me by my father over the phone when the topic of dreams came up. He mentioned having a dream with a pig appearing in our apartment, and regretted not being able to buy a lottery ticket the next day, as the dream slipped his mind as he carried on throughout his day with work and other responsibilities. He explained that in Korean culture, a pig dream is seen as a good omen for financial success, and it can be deduced from his regret that he shared this same interpretation. While he could not recall where he first heard this superstition, he said that most people who were born and grew up in Korea know about this superstition. Later on, he sent a Korean blog post that explained the origins of the superstition, with the blog explaining the linguistic background of the pig superstition. Before Korean (Hangul) was created, Koreans used Chinese letters (Hanja), and they noticed that the Chinese word for pig (don) sounded just like the word for money (also don) in Korean.

Analysis: This is an example of a traditional folklore in which its origin cannot be pinpointed to a specific person or time, and is transmitted orally from my informant to me. At a surface level, beyond the language explanation, I could see why a pig dream could be interpreted as fortune. With Korea having a history of famines among the commons, the physical traits of a fat and well-fed pig naturally makes it a symbol of prosperity. In fact, in North Korea, where its aspects like famines and strict social hierarchies mirror previous Korean kingdoms, beauty standards share themes with this pig superstition. While South Korea obsesses over skinny figures, a round face and “healthy” body is seen as beautiful in North Korea, as it signals the individual as well-fed and wealthy. Overall, I believe this pig superstition’s origins offers an interesting cultural and historical insight of Korean communities from its origin that came from a wordplay between two languages, and symbolisms that stemmed from a struggling society.