Nothing is better than celebrating the holiday season with something to unwrap and enjoy.
While finding the perfect gift for that special someone may not be easy, there are some things that should be avoided when giving presents in South Korea.
(123rf)
Sharp objects
While a beautiful blade seems a sensible gift for for the home cook on your shopping list, giving knives and scissors -- basically, anything that is sharp or used for cutting -- is a no-no. Such gifts risk signaling the cutting off of the love or friendship between the gifter and the receiver under an age-old superstition.
However some believe in workarounds: The recipient could give a small amount of money to the giver to avoid the bad luck associated with gifting sharp objects. Another practice is to pair the knife with a solid and unbreakable object, such as a Go stone, to protect the bond between the giver and the receiver.
(123rf)
Footwear
Footwear -- whether shoes, boots or slippers -- is also a bad idea, particularly as a romantic Christmas gift to one's girlfriend or boyfriend: Many Koreans still subscribe to the superstition that gifting a lover with a pair of shoes will make them run away -- most likely in the same pair of shoes.
(123rf)
White chrysanthemums
Flowers have always been a Christmas favorite for many. They are easy to order, reasonably priced, a symbol of celebration for the year ahead, and, most importantly, light up homes with their scents and colors.
But steer clear of white chrysanthemums in Korea as a gift. While the white flower symbolizes loyalty and honesty in Western cultures like the US, for example, and is used in floral arrangements to convey good wishes, the flower, known as white "gukhwa," is often linked with death, mourning and respect for the deceased. Because of the connection to death and funerals, white chrysanthemums are considered inappropriate as gifts for the living as they could be seen as bad a bad omen.
(123rf)
Handkerchief
You should refrain from giving a handkerchief as a present. There is a traditional belief that presenting a handkerchief attracts bad luck to the receiver because it is used to wipe tears or to cover coughs. The superstition here is that the recipient will spend a lot of time crying in the future.
Never a set of four
Whatever the gift is, it should never be in a set of four, which is considered the unluckiest number for Koreans. The number four is pronounced "sa" in Korean, which is phonetically similar to the word for death, so many people associate it with misfortune or bad luck and avoid it on special occasions.
MOST POPULAR