An early memory of mine is my Korean mother always trying to warn me of leaving the fan on, especially when I was sleeping. She would try and explain it in her own way, "No go sleep with the fan on. You head going blow up and you going die." I always thought it was the most asinine belief and something she had to have made up. However, Korean Fan Death is a real urban legend, that didn't come from my mom. Apparently, many Koreans believe in it.
Another superstition my mom warned me of was, if I heard a familiar voice outside my bedroom window, and it called my name three times, do not open the door. It's a ghost and will kill you. Needless to say, I had a very difficult time falling asleep at night.
My mother had an extreme dislike for dogs. She did not want me to have them or touch them, and she would never touch one. She said if they bit you, and Drew blood, you'd turn into a dog. It sounds like a common werewolf story.
When I was pregnant, my mom needlessly told me not to squat over the ground to urinate. I would catch a disease that would hurt the baby. I told her I would try to keep that in mind.
After all my children were born, my mom made an abundance of seaweed soup. An abundance is putting it mildly. She said it would help make the post-natal bleeding stop faster. She never got into detail why or how, but upon my own research, it's basically a dark green, leafy meal that enhances your iron intake and provides other nutrients.
As a child, every time I'd lose a primary tooth, I'd put it under my pillow for the American tooth fairy to come take, but my mom would take it and throw it over our roof, making a wish as she did it. Her wish was always for straight and healthy teeth for me. Instead of a coin or dollar under my pillow, I'd have an elaborate gift. One day, I woke up to a boom box.
On special occasions such as Christmas, birthdays, death days, and even times of the year where a full moon appears in the sky, my mom always put food and candles out for a loved one. This is called ancestor veneration in English. Sometimes she'd talk to the deceased loved one, sometimes she'd do a Buddhist chant. She always looked for guidance through this outlet of respecting the dead in the afterlife. My mom never did this indoors as to not invite ghosts into her house, so the candles and food stayed outside.
There are many more superstitions and traditions I grew up with, but these ones were embedded and ingrained in my life, as I had seen or heard her tell me these things over and over again.
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