Some dreams disappear with the first coffee. Others send a person to the nearest lottery shop.

A pig in a dream can be considered a good sign in Korea. It does not modestly promise a little happiness, but rather prosperity and abundance. Whether the ticket actually wins after that is another story. But for a moment, even a grunting late-night visit feels like good news.

Why a pig?

In Korean folk culture, the pig has long represented fertility, abundance and happiness. It eats with great appetite and gives birth to many young – two very vivid images of abundance.

There is also a language game. The Korean word for money is don – 돈. The Sino-Korean reading of the character 豚 for pig is also don . The everyday Korean word for pig is dwaeji – 돼지. Nevertheless, the harmony beautifully connects the animal with money.

Therefore, a pig dream, dwaeji-kkum – 돼지꿈, can be understood as a omen for financial luck. Some people then buy a lottery ticket. Not because the pig gave away numbers, but because happiness sometimes needs a little reason.

If the four would rather be an F

Numbers can also have a second meaning. The Sino-Korean pronunciation of the number four is sa – 사. The word for death can be pronounced the same way, but is written with a different character.

This is why some Korean buildings lack the fourth floor on the control panel. Between three and five there is a F . Similar to the number 13 in many Western countries, the floor naturally remains there. Only its name takes a slight detour.

Personality from the blood group

Another idea assigns certain character traits to the blood groups. Blood group A is considered conscientious, B is independent, AB is unusual and 0 is open or self-confident.

Such typologies can appear as small talk, flirting questions or playful self-explanations. However, personality cannot be reliably determined from this scientifically. A large analysis of surveys from Japan and the USA found virtually no relevant connection.

The fan that became suspicious at night

Hardly any Korean everyday legend is as internationally known as the so-called “fan death”. The story goes that a running fan in a closed bedroom can deplete oxygen, cause suffocation, or dangerously cool the body.

However, an ordinary fan does not consume oxygen. It moves air. In extreme heat, an overheated room is still dangerous – but not because the fan secretly causes the air to disappear.

Superstition is rarely just a list of false claims. It shows which words sound similar, what hopes people share and what previous generations warned about. You don’t have to believe in it to learn about a country.

And if a pig drops by tonight? Thank you politely. However, it cannot guarantee winning the lottery.

Sources

• Korea.net: Exhibition of the National Folk Museum on the pig as a symbol of good luck and prosperity
• Korea.net: Korean good luck signs and superstitions in everyday life
• PubMed: No relevant relationship between ABO blood types and personality
• Korea JoongAng Daily: Classifying the legend of “ventilator death”