Fortune-telling, harmful or just for fun
What do you think fortune-telling is? University students said whether fortune-telling is superstition or entertainment. Fortune-telling is a practice of predicting information about a person's life. Humans have had fortune-telling since the beginning of time. In old times, ancestors told the harvest¡¯s fortune from the snow and moon. In addition, the Goryeo and the Joseon Dynasties had institutions that predicted about important national matters. When people have decided where to go at a fork in the road, they spit on their hands and flicked spit with their fingers, and they went in the direction of their spit. In addition, some people tossed a coin when making decisions. Fortune-telling has embedded itself in our daily lives.
Koreans seriously believed in fortune-telling from the 1960s to the 80s. During this time, someone might have been a murderer that made his housekeeper die after hearing a shaman¡¯s words, ¡°You should throw a maiden in the water so your son will become healthy.¡± Furthermore, people have exorcisms when bad things happen. For Koreans, fortune-telling was a part of everyday life. Fortune-telling was so popular that hamlets of fortune-tellers were formed in the 70s. At that time, the media wrote articles about fortune-telling and shamanism to banish the beliefs of people. However, they did not succeed in banishing their beliefs.
Unlike in the past, almost no one believes in fortune-telling in these days, most people think fortune-telling is a time-killer. However, people still visit fortune-telling houses because humans don¡¯t know what will happen in the future even though science has evolved.
People¡¯s views of fortune-telling
People think of fortune-telling in different ways. Some people have blind faith in it, but others are in one ear and out the other.
¡°I think fortune-telling is reliable.¡±
Chae Hui-seong(Dept. of Computer Engineering 11¡¯), who visits a fortune-teller once or twice a year, said, ¡°Sometimes, fortune-tellers got my situation correct. In that case, fortune-telling didn¡¯t seem like a superstition.¡± He showed belief about fortune-telling.
¡°Fortune-telling is only a superstition!¡±
Na Yu-jin, a cartoonist of the webtoon ¡®Baby Wings¡¯, thinks negatively about fortune-telling. She said, ¡°I collected tarot cards and enjoyed fortune-telling in the past. However, if I do not act, nothing will change no matter how good a fortune-telling sign is. Then, I realized that fortune-telling is to no avail, so I don¡¯t collect tarot cards anymore.¡±
¡°Whatever the superstition, just use it well."
Keimyung University student Shin Eun-jeong(Dept. of International Commerce 11¡¯) said,¡°I don't believe in fortune-telling. However, I try to achieve a fortune-telling reading if I receive a good fortune-telling when I go for fun.¡± She is taking full advantage of fortune-telling readings.
¡°You can overcome your saju.¡±
A Person¡¯s birth year, month, day, and time are called ¡®saju¡¯. Han Gyeong-seon is a fortune-teller who predicts a person¡¯s future with saju in ¡®Mono&Saju Cafe¡¯. She thinks fortune-telling is a self-examination of oneself. If people saw fortune-tellers when things were not going well, they could know themselves. Then, they can resolve these things easily. She said, ¡°People can overcome their saju. I have seen many people that are born under a good saju. They can succeed if they try a little. However, many people did not use their saju because they didn¡¯t try. In contrast, some people fought to overcome their bad saju.¡± She emphasized the importance of will several times when she explained fortune-telling. Also, she added, ¡°Sometimes, people get bad results from fortune-telling. When those results come out, they feel depressed because they will fail to do things and they don¡¯t have any idea how to change their future. However, they should wipe the indolence from their mind and they must make more of an effort at that time.¡±
Fortune-telling in daily lives
People can easily search for fortune-telling, believed to foretell the future, in people¡¯s daily lives. Now, people don't visit a house of philosophy or a fortune-telling house because people can easily use a computer or a cell-phone for fortune-telling. People use the internet for fortune-telling. 'Fortune.com(http://www.un-se.co.kr)' deals with diverse fortunes like the fortunes of whole lives, the fortunes of the years, the fortunes of love and the fortunes of business. 'Ore Fortune(http://kr.oreuranai.com)' uses the dates of births and names for fortune-telling. People also use smart phone applications for fortune-telling. 'Fortune of the Whole Country' and 'The Magic Castle' deal with one's saju, and 'The Tarot-holic' uses tarot card readings. Also, some applications use astrology and the lines of the palm for fortune-telling.
Fortune-telling shops are different from those of the old days. Fortune-telling houses that are gloomy and are not comfortable for the young to visit are uniting with modern cafes, so they are comfortable to visit. One of those fortune-telling houses is 'Mono Coffee & Saju cafe.' On average, 20 people visit every day, and the young in their 20¡¯s and 30¡¯s mainly visit the cafe. Although belief in fortune is decreasing, the number of young people visiting the fortune-telling houses is increasing.
People who lightly enjoy fortune-telling are increasing. Some people organize associations for fortune-telling because they want to enjoy it together. 'Arcana', which is a tarot club in Silla University, is one such association. They like tarot cards and enjoy using tarot cards in readings. The tarot cards consist of 78 cards and they have different meanings. During a tarot card reading, one selects a tarot card and the meaning of that card is discovered. Members of ¡®Arcana¡¯ study the tarot and use the cards in festivals and events both on and off the campus for fortune-telling.
Lee Ji-eun(Chairman of Arcana) said, "I had a negative opinion of fortune-telling, but I learned about the tarot cards and now have a different opinion. Fortune-telling is not to foretell the future but to face up to reality and change a person's future." She mainly uses the tarot cards for fortune-telling when she has problems. She said she checked the wrong things of her action and what she overlooked and had her new state of mind by using the tarot cards for fortune-telling. She recommends 'Universal Waite Tarot Deck' for students who want to learn about tarot. It is easy to learn because the deck has clear symbols. The new members in Arcana learn about the deck.
CBNU, go ahead.
Lee Ji-eun predicted the fortune of CBNU. Now, CBNU has the mind to go forward and to make careful preparations. CBNU hides the mind of that outwardly. CBNU watches for an opportunity. CBNU needs to pay attention to rumors. CBNU needs to have a new beginning and to have many possibilities of development. But CBNU is afraid of having a weak inner appearance and a plausible outer appearance. She explains the situation of CBNU and urges it not to be swayed by its surroundings and to act on its own judgment.
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