Re:9/19(화) - Fortune-tellers(번역)

[Ross(황세영)]

Many Koreans Feel Comfortable Seeking Advice from Fortune-tellers 많은 한국인들은 점쟁이를 찾아가 마음의 안식을 찾는다고.... In a brightly lit room festooned with colorful bunting and shamanic images, Choi Seon-wook, who has just entered her 30s, was keen on asking a portly soothsayer what her future will be like.  당신(무당의 신들) 그림들과 색색깔의 깃발들과 꽃들로 장식된 환히 밝혀진 방에 이제 막 30줄로 접어든 최선옥씨는 자신의 미래가 어떻게 될지 풍채 당당한 역술가에게 물어보고 있었다. "My parents keep bugging me, asking when I am going to get married," Choi said in a pleading voice on a recent Sunday. "There are things I can't solve myself." Having just broken up with her boyfriend, Choi was making her second visit to the fortune-teller in less than a month. She said the 20-minute visit, which cost her 30,000 won , was worth it. "부모님께서 자꾸 시집 언제가냐고 뭐라하세요"  얼마전 일요일날 최씨가 항변하는듯한 목소리고 말했다. "스스로 풀 수 없는 문제들이 있잖아요." 얼마 전 남친과 헤어진 최씨는 한달도 지나지 않아 또 다시 점장이를 찾아갔다. 20분에 3만원이 든다. The female seer told Choi to "be careful about men this year and next year, and then you'll find the right one." Fortune-teller Im Bin-chang tells a young woman how her life will be in the new year. 여자 점술가는 최씨에게 " 올해, 내년엔 남자조심해라, 그러면 괜찬은 남자 만날거다." . 라고 했다. 점쟁이 임빈창씨는 젊은 여성에게 새해 그녀의 운세에 대해 이야기 한다. The fortune-telling business, mainly attracting the young generation, is growing in metropolitan cities and is estimated to be worth 2 trillion won (US$1.7 billion) annually. Choi seemed relieved when she stepped out of the fortune-teller's Korean-style home and office in northern Seoul. "I don't expect a complete answer here, but it gives me a sense of relief, just like when I get good counseling," she said with a grin. 주로 젊은층에게 인기있는 점술사업은 대도시에서 사업이 커졌고 연간 2조(?)원의 시장규모로 평가된다. 서울 북부의 한 오피스텔의 점쟁이 집에서 나오는 최씨는 안도하는 듯한 인상이엇다. "어차피 완벽한 해답을 기대한건 아니었지만. 그래도 좋은 상담을 했을때처럼 안도감을 준다." While many people dismiss fortune-telling as superstition, the time-honored art is a prosperous business in today's South Korea, and is estimated by experts to be worth 2 trillion won (US$1.7 billion) and still growing. There are 60,000 to 70,000 self-styled fortune-tellers and a similar number of trained seers in a country of 48 million, according the private Korea Folklore Society. They work mostly in populous urban areas. 많은 사람들이 점쟁이를 찾아가는 것을 미신으로 여기기는 하지만 이 전통깊은 기술은 현재 남한에서 전망밝은 사업이다. 전무가들은 이 시장을 2조억으로 보고있고 점점 커지고 있다고 평가한다. 6만에서 7만몀 가량의 신내린  점쟁이들과 비슷한 숫자의 공부로 터득한 점술가들이 있다. 그들은 인구밀도가 높은 도심에서 일한다. More people visit fortune-tellers in difficult times or when a new year begins. Now is one of those times as many Koreans are suffering from an economic downturn. Unemployment is rising, causing some desperate people to commit suicide. Korean fortune-tellers, commonly called shamans, used to be identified as old men or women sitting in front of Buddha statues in old houses hidden on the edges of bleak neighborhoods. Their main customers were housewives asking such mundane questions as whether their children would pass the college entrance exam, if their son or daughter should marry, whether they should buy a house in the east or the west part of the city and even whether it was OK to cut down a tree so as not to anger the tree gods. Today, it has become a part of the daily lives of many Koreans, young and old. Fortune-teller cafes have sprouted up in the ritzy urban back streets. Ordinary people feel comfortable going there for drinks and counseling. Prof. Suh Jung-bum of Kyung Hee University in Seoul said shamanism was a close - and not necessarily bad - part of Koreans' daily lives, dating back to the 15th century. In Korea's folk history, Suh said, gods were everywhere in a house. There was a god for the gate, a separate god for the kitchen, another for the chimney, and ones for every pillar. But as time passed, people lost touch with these gods, so they felt psychologically deprived and began to long for other mysterious things, Suh said. "Shamanism is an outward expression‎ of such longings." Seen here are a number of young people asking and being consulted about their futures on Jan. 24 at a "fortune-teller cafe" in Seoul. However, the fortune-tellers these days are young and educated, and many work in bright, expensively decorated cafes in well-to-do neighborhoods. Jung Chang-yong, 39, is in his 11th year of running a fortune-telling cafe near a women's university in western Seoul. Over 150 people come to his cafe each day, mostly young women. "For women, going to a fortune-teller is like going to a hair salon. They look for someone who can show and tell them precisely what to expect," Jung says. Cafes like Jung's first appeared about 15 years ago. They drew college students who came for fun, giggling with friends, asking about academic and career prospects and their love life. Many fortune-tellers are online, operating 3,000 to 4,000 sites. Some of them boast daily profits of up to 20 million won. These kind of fortune tellers are a new breed. Most of them learned the art through self-education or at institutes that teach fortune-reading techniques. They also go by books of statistics based on the pattern of lives lived by individuals according to the date, time and year of their birth. For the original fortune-tellers, the business is anything but fun and money. For some, it is a curse. Shaman Park Jung-im's room is decorated with colorful bunting and images of her ancestors who are believed to fill her with holy spirit and foresight. Park Jung-im, 55, says she spent 14 years fighting off what is called here "the divine order" to become a fortune teller. She first "felt" the signs at 38, and when she refused to follow them, she became extremely ill and failed at everything she did, including motel and restaurant businesses. Then she gave up and accepted her fate. Park says she was given fortune-telling powers by her ancestors. Instead of going by the books, she says she speaks to her customers as she is told to speak by her forefathers. Park has to go to a mountain on the coldest winter nights, or whenever called upon by the ancestors, to keep in touch with "the voice." "I tell myself that I should prevent my spirits from going into my descendants after I die. My spirit will keep chasing them to walk the same path as I did," Park said. "This life is just too hard." Older people still look for seers like Park because they believe they are much more precise than the statistics-laden fortune-tellers of today. Hwang Mi-ja, 62, says she always welcomes new information about those who have just received the "divine order." "They are the best. Their predictions are surprisingly right. But I make sure that they haven't lost the 'voice.' I was told that it goes away after a few years," Hwang said. Be it superstition, shamanism or whatever, Koreans today are taking fortune-telling much more lightly than previous generations. While older people expect fortune tellers to tell them how unseen hands are controlling their lives, the young generation just wants advice. Noh Sung-woo, 46, also runs a fortune-telling cafe in southern Seoul. He looks into people's faces to read their lives - and fortune. "To be honest, we're not 100 percent right. We just want to lead our customers in a positive direction," he said. "If the facial image is strong, we tell them to become humble. If the image is weak, we pep them up, encourage them...We are counseling them." <Questions> 1. Have you visited to a forturn-teller or saju cafe? tell us about your experience.. 2. Do you believe in what forturn-teller says? Or what is your first impression fortune-teller? 3. When do you usually want to visit to a forturn-teller? some people say that go to a forturn-teller when they face a important choice and some say it just helpful to make a decision , but some say it just make things more complicated 4. What do you think of depending on forturn-teller's saying when you need to make a decision or how much are you affected by forturn tellers's saying? 5. If the fortue-teller say you shouldn’t get married with your boy or girl friend, what are you gonna do?   by 설탕가루