Mythologies

It is certainly not my place to mock the superstitions and belief systems of another country, especially one that has let me, an unqualified, never-before-taught, ‘teacher’ educate the brood of the nation and paying me rather well in comparison to the home-grown natives. I’m all for celebrating ‘cultural diversity’ and all the perceived quirks and eccentricities that one from outside that culture will experience. As Korea is a developed country, I did not expect there to be many outlandish beliefs. It’s not exactly a tribal community, isolated from external influence after all. However, one widely entertained myth that Koreans sign-up for that boggles the hell out of us Westerners is ‘fan death’. Yes, that’s right ‘fan death.’ And not even the dramatic type that almost claimed the lives of Charlie and his Grandpa Pa after they became intoxicated on Willy Wonka’s home brew and almost floated to their peril. Oh no, Korean’s believe that if you are left in a closed room with a fan turned on then YOU WLL DIE. I’m not even joking.

There are a few ‘theories’ behind this urban legend. One is that the mechanism of the fan blades actually sucks in the oxygen from the air, leaving the ‘victim’ with nothing but carbon dioxide to breathe. Another (and even more incredible notion if possible) is that the action of the spinning blades actually chops up oxygen molecules in the air, rendering them useless for human absorption. Another is that the common fan can induce hypothermia. All of which are of course complete bollocks with no scientific foundation whatsoever. These crazy ideas beggar belief and after hearing this from other Westerners I thought that this was a myth solely subscribed to by a couple of old country bumpkins out in the sticks somewhere.

So I decided to bring up the subject at lunchtime with the Korean teachers, the oldest of which is 31, so not exactly geriatric. I thought they would laugh off the idea that intelligent, young urbanites such as themselves would corroborate with such nonsense. However, they were fully behind the idea and assured me, with passionate conviction, I might add, that it was true. After pushing a bit into how there is no scientific backing into this idea, they got a bit shirty and told me they knew a friend of someone (oh right, that old chestnut) who had died at the hands (or blades maybe?) of a simple household fan. Apparently, Westerners always question this and it really got the teachers' backs up. So I let it drop. For now. But I know the next time I go out for a few drinks with them I will have to take up the cudgels once again. It’s just so ridiculous. Actually I think I’m going to make it my personal quest during my stay here to convince a Korean that this cannot possibly be true.

This is not an isolated incident in terms of bizarre ideas. One of Sarah’s students thinks you cannot fly on a plane if you have a tattoo. Sarah really wanted to reveal the inkwork on her back and say “Oh really. How do you think I got here then? Bicycle?” But thankfully she didn’t. Koreans generally have a bit of a problem with tattoos, which is probably how this notion became propagated, scare-mongering by an elder to keep their precious offspring from tampering with “God’s work.” I blame the parents.

Any more myths, urban legends, falsifications, old-wives tales or miscellaneous nonsense will be posted as and when I discover it!