Spooked
The sun is shining. The birds are singing. This seems like a good time to talk about ghosts.
South Korean ghosts are hardcore. Once you’ve encountered one there’s basically no way to escape a terrible fate. The spirits in Korean ghost stories like to ask trick questions (Am I pretty? Blue or red?) as if your survival depends on choosing the right answer. It does not. You will be eaten regardless.
It’s possible to escape with the right protective talismans, but these are specific to each particular type of spirit. For instance, writing the word 개 (dog) on your hand protects you from the Red Mask ghost, but will do absolutely nothing against toilet ghosts. (The Red Mask ghost will not wait for you to scribble on your hand, btw. You have to prepare in advance.)
Of course, not all ghosts are maleficent. Jeju Island, with its deep history of shamanism, is full of spirits who are neutral or even protective toward humans. But they still keep close tabs on human behavior. To my novice understanding, it’s a bit like Santa Claus without the presents. The ghosts don’t particularly care if you’re nice; they keep track of when you’re naughty.
Specifically, they’re concerned with whether you’ve broken any unwritten taboos surrounding their domain. Just about anything can have a spirit associated with it: a tree, a fence, certainly your house. Tampering with these items (moving houses, cutting down the tree, even repairing the fence) can get you in serious trouble. The spirits are big believers in the status quo, and woe to any human who decides to change things without asking their permission first.
Those who do so – knowingly or otherwise – are punished. Such spirit-inflicted punishments are called dongti (동티), and they usually come in the form of physical pain or illness. The more serious the offense the worse the ailment, up to and including death. Fortunately, eye and leg pain are far more common. The only cure is to consult a shaman, who can determine the necessary atonement. But it’s far better to get spiritual permission before messing around with taboos. Alternatively, you can stay put and not touch anything.
Spirits and their dongti are not exclusive to Jeju, but the island has its own variation which holds that once a year all ghosts must return to the spirit realm and report to their boss, the Jade Emperor of Heaven. This period is called Singugan (신구간 ), “between old and new,” as it occurs between the end of the coldest season and the traditional beginning of spring. For seven days there are no spirits anywhere on the earth. So that’s when everyone gets their shit done.
It’s a brilliant plan: no witness, no crime. Plus, spirits are often assigned to new positions each year; the new guy coming in won’t know your fence didn’t always look like that. It’s carte blanche on landscaping and redecorating. You can even go so far as to renovate your bathroom. (The Encyclopedia of Korean Folk Culture is specifically reassuring on this point. Seriously, toilet ghosts are terrifying.)
Singugan is often simply translated as Moving Season. If you want to change apartments, this is the time. Not only do you avoid dongti, but there’s no risk of unwanted house spirits tagging along to the new place.
In Korea, special events generally follow the lunar calendar, so the dates change every year against the Gregorian calendar. This year Singugan runs from January 25th to the 31st. So, this week.
This is of interest to us because we’re looking for a new apartment. The timing is largely a coincidence, but Singugan adds an extra dimension of urgency to our search. Is it actually possible we’ll go from zero to moved within the next few days? Absolutely! This is South Korea.
But it’s ok if we don’t. The practice has relaxed slightly over the centuries, and nowadays January and early February are loosely considered good times to change house. And even if we miss the window, there’s still one Korean tradition we can rely on:
Never clean your house before moving out – it tips off the ghosts. Just grab your stuff and close the door. With any luck the spirits won’t realize you’re not coming back until it’s too late for them to follow.
But leave the apartment in a mess, you ask? Surely that’s not right! I said as much to a wise Korean: an American would never move out without cleaning first. She considered the matter carefully before offering this reply.
“I think,” she said, “that the US and Korea are very different.”
Fair enough. Ghost-dodging it is.
-Erin
UPDATE: Mission complete with one day to spare!
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