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Blast from the Past
The Korean Dream World
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
February 2021
blast from the past
Everyone dreams, and everyone dreams often – several times a night. Most of our dreams, however, are not remembered upon waking. But those that are remembered are often subject to Korean interpretation, depending on the content of the dream. Stephen Redeker dealt with Korean dreams and their interpretation in his earlier contribution to the Gwangju News (May 2013). That article has been resurrected and revitalized here for your reading enjoyment. — Ed.
H
ow important was that dream you had last night? In Western culture, dreams are viewed more as a novelty – an interesting (or embarrassing) topic to bring up among friends. However, in Korea, dreams can be much more meaningful than that. In this country, dreams are seen as omens. Similar to Chinese culture, dreams in Korea can be interpreted to symbolize good or bad fortune and even foretell the future of unborn babies.
in the sky. A dream like this symbolizes huge success in the dreamer’s life. When someone dreams of themselves flying, it is also a dream suggesting future success. A dream in which one is falling is just the opposite. A dream about cats or dogs may be called a “dog dream” (gaekkeum, 개꿈), a useless dream holding no particular predictive powers.
Animal Dreams
Nature plays a part in fortunate dreams as well. You might think that a dream of a blazing inferno has a negative connotation. The reverse may actually be true. The Korean fire dream can be interpreted as meaning that your burdens and troubles in life are burning away so that you can start afresh. Hopefully, in your dream you do not put out the fire. If this happens, the sight of ashes could mean that the problems will return. Other good-luck dreams regarding nature include hiking in the mountains, swimming in the sea, and seeing clear skies.
Let’s start with the good. Pigs are a symbol of wealth in Korea. That is why you will find plastic “piggy” banks being sold in so many stores. When someone dreams of a pig, this can mean money is coming their way – even more so if there are many pigs in the pig dream (doejikkeum, 되지꿈), or if the pigs interact with the dreaming person. True Tale: One expat living in Gwangju had a dream of many little pigs nibbling at his toes. The next morning, he related the dream to his Korean wife, who immediately suggested that he buy a lottery ticket for good luck. (Buying lottery tickets after having a pig dream was common practice at the time.) After thinking about the lottery ticket suggestion, several days later, he bought a couple of tickets when he came upon a streetside lottery ticket kiosk. However, before the lottery winners were announced, this expectant expat slipped off the sidewalk, hit his head on the pavement, was rushed to the emergency room, had more than a dozen stitches put in his forehead, and took weeks to heal. He never bought a lottery ticket again. His pig dream seemed to have been misinterpreted: Although there were many piglets in the dream and they were interacting with the dreamer, it was not a pleasant interaction. The biting was painful. To bring good fortune, the pig dream apparently needs to be a pleasant dream. Some other lucky animals include bears, tigers, carp, phoenixes, and even snakes. A dream of a dragon is considered super lucky, especially if it involves flying high
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Nature Dreams
Clean, clear water flowing towards one’s location, as with flood waters approaching a village or house, is a good omen (good fortune is coming). Water flowing away or muddy, murky waters is a bad omen (one’s good fortune is departing). Surprisingly, dreaming of blood, urine, and excrement are considered good omens! It is believed that these indicate that the toxins have been flushed from the body. (This might help explain why urinating on the parched earth was part of an old rain-making ritual, and why a pile of poop is often depicted so glamorously as emoji and in children’s books and comic books.)
Good Dreams, Bad Dreams
Now, on to some of the bad dreams. A nightmare is scary no matter where you are in the world, and it is never a good thing. When people have dreams about losing teeth, this can symbolize several things: Losing one tooth can mean someone close will become sick or possibly die, losing a few teeth means the road ahead will be rocky in the future, and losing all one’s teeth suggests that everything will fall apart, leaving the toothless dreamer
1/26/2021 10:07:27 AM
