Superstitious Koreans

Here’s this week’s tip on Korean language and customs:

Q:
Koreans don’t seem to care about opening umbrellas indoors, so on rainy days, my colleagues lay umbrellas open to dry them. Some superstitious Americans, like myself, believe that opening umbrellas indoors, breaking a mirror, or walking under a ladder bring bad luck.

Since some Koreans are also very superstitious people, there must be habits that are not encouraged among Koreans. What are some examples?

A:
Koreans don’t necessarily find open umbrellas unlucky, but there are other habits that might get on their nerves.

Some of the oldest beliefs include cutting hair, so Koreans, both men and women, kept their hair very long, and if they had to cut it, they saved the cut locks in secure places. A long, well-groomed mustache was considered a sign of good fortune. However, facial hair gradually went out of fashion as Korea modernized. Some beliefs were sexist: merchants didn’t want to serve bespectacled women in the morning; fortunately this also disappeared.

Many people believe that picking their ears or clipping their nails at night will bring bad luck. And most Koreans don’t like to step on door frames. But the worst thing you can do, according to our unofficial survey, is break a rice bowl in the morning.