(토요모임) Topic on Oct. 1st.

[Nate]

Topic. 'Gunghap' matters to young singles

Is "gunghap" - the fortuneteller's prediction of marital harmony - a superstition believed only by the older generation in Korea?

A recent survey showed that a surprising number of young men and women in Korea take the fortune teller's predictions very seriously before getting married. While 62.9 percent of married men and women in their 20s to 30s said that they had called on gunghap consultants before marriage, 72 percent of single women in the same age bracket said that they put import!!!ance on gunghap for their future spouses. The result comes from a survey conducted by Embrain among 520 men and women in their 20s and 30s.

A total of 68.6 percent of single men and women said that they wanted to know the gunghap with their partners before marriage. Women seemed to be more attached to gunghap compared to men with 63.5 percent of females saying they would reconsider marrying someone with a bad gunghap. On the other hand, 70.9 percent of males said that the bad gunghap would not influence their decision of marriage.

Gunghap involves discovering the compatibility of a couple by examining the "saju" - Korea's traditional way of predicting one's overall fortune through the date and the time of bi

rth - of the two partners. As a formula based on ancient Eastern philosophy, Saju - literally meaning four pillars - has remained the predominant method for fortunetelling in Korea. It is believed that the precise moment of one's birth determines the nature of the flow of energy between the individual and the universe. Decades ago, the couple's parents would often call on gunghap consultants to make decision on the approaching marriage. Because Korean marriages were centered essentially on the families rather than the actual couple, gunghap was an important procedure for tying the knot.

Following a rise in individualism, it was believed that the younger generation was much less attached to the result of their pre-marital harmony, leaning more on other conditions such as financial background and personality for marriage. But as the survey shows, many in 20 and 30-something-year-olds still consider gunghap important.

"Well, to be really frank, I think gunghap must matter if it was so important traditionally," said 25-year-old college student Yoon Yeo-jung. "If a fortuneteller tells me that I would have a very unhappy and unfortunate marriage with my boyfriend, I

would definitely reconsider marrying him." Kim Ji-na, 29, said that although the bad gunghap would not make her end the relationship completely, it would still influence the relationship to a certain extent. "One fortuneteller told me that my and my boyfriend's gunghap was very bad. Although that wouldn't make me completely reconsider marrying him, it does bug me from time to time especially when I'm not in good terms with him," she said.

But interestingly, youngsters appear to be laying stress on gunghap for slightly different reasons.

Although gunghap formerly tended to be the final word on whether the marriage would be auspicious for both families, now it seems to dictate the happiness of the couples themselves.

"The reason that I want to marry someone with a good gunghap is not for traditional reasons, but only because I dream of a fully content relationship with her," said 31-year-old Kim Hyung-joo.

"If my grandmother says I shouldn't marry someone because she has an ill fortune to the family or something, I would ignore it," he said. "But if the fortuneteller predicted more specific matters such as an overall unhappiness due to personality differences or physiological disharmony, I would reconsider." Lee Eun-young, 27, agreed.

"From what I see, the growing interest in gunghap for younger people is due to the fear of marriage," she said. "With many people afraid whether commitment will naturally lead to happiness, the superstitious prediction is becoming a means of individual consolation."

Lee Jae-hoon, 30, said that people willing to know their gunghap did not necessarily believe in it as faithfully as their parents' generation had. "Many would go to fortunetellers out of pure interest, not to make their decisions upon it," he said.

Questions

1. Can you trust fortuneteller’s saying? How about “Gunghap”? Do you believe that?

2. Will you consult your marriage with fortuneteller? If fortuneteller predicts very bad and unlucky harmony with your partner, do you want to reconsider your marriage?

3. Why fortuneteller’s predictions have an impact to many people?

4. Would you marry someone ten years older than you? How about ten years younger than you? (Just assume that your Gunghap is perfect!!)

5. Do you know of any superstitions connected with weddings?

6. What’s the most considerable thing when you get married?