Spring 2015

Courses this Semester:
Low Intermediate English Communication 101
Low Intermediate English Communication 105
Low Intermediate English Communication 106
Low Intermediate English Communication 107
High Intermediate English Communication 109
TESOL Communication 1

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Do You Believe Superstitions?

Here is a guest post from Oh Chae Won in LIEC 107

Do You Believe Superstitions?

There are many superstitions in the world. Some people say that they believe

them, but others think they are just lies and nothing. What is a superstition? It is

the belief that people made for their good luck and also bad luck that we want

to avoid negative situations. Do you believe it? There are many superstitions in

Korea, and especially I want to tell about Korean superstitions of an exam.

Korean people often eat rice cakes which are called “Tteok” before they take

a test, because it is very sticky. We also eat “Yeot”, and it is a type of sticky

and sweet Korean candy made from glutinous rice. It is believed that good

fortune will stick on to you if you eat them. Korean students usually eat these

before an exam so that all the knowledge sticks into their head. They believe

that if they chew sticky things such as “Tteok”, “Yeot” and taffies, their name

will be able to be stuck on the board of the successful candidates. For instance,

most Korean parents give Tteok and taffies to their children who will have CSAT

similar to SAT in America. I also got a lot of taffies from my parents, friends

and relatives when I was a high-school senior.

However, Korean people have bad superstitions that they need to be careful

about it before the exam. They don’t eat brown seaweed soup or noodles,

because they are slippery. They think if they eat slippery foods, they will slip

when doing their test, and then they can’t stand up. They also believe slippery

foods also will lubricate their brain and the material they’ve studied will slip right

out of their head. Similarly, Korean people don’t cut their nails and hair ahead of

the exam, because they believe that it will cut down their scores.

In my opinion, it depends on the people’s mind whether superstition is

believable or not because it was just made by people. I usually accept

superstitions that will only give good fortune. I believe there is no right or wrong

things in the superstition. Therefore, I think it is better to believe that you think it

will give you a good luck.

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