Behind the Myth: Passing the Big Exam
Behind the Myth: Exploring Korean Tradition
This series of articles will shed light on some Korean myths, folklore, traditions and superstitions. Every country has their own share of beliefs, fact or fiction, and many foreigners living in Korea have not yet heard or do not yet understand the basis of various Korean beliefs that may be different from their own.
Passing the Big Exam
This month’s “Behind the Myth” begins where last month’s ended: with Korean students having an abundance of homework and exams to study for. It’s a part of Korean culture that dates back centuries. Passing tests has always been a way to succeed in life and raise one’s status in society. Usually young Korean students don’t become accustomed to tests until middle school. Then tests progressively become more frequent, difficult, and important through high school, college, and post-graduate studies. These tests include major exams taken to qualify for premium job openings at major companies.
Korean test culture differs greatly from Western test culture. In the USA, the SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) gives a clear-cut score which universities use to determine whether or not an applicant qualifies to attend. Scoring high on the SAT is something that takes much preparation. If a student does not do well on the SAT, they can still be confident that a successful career can be achieved; it’s believed that even college drop-outs can become huge successes with the right ideas, hard work, and timing. But in Korea, this is not the case. If you don’t pass the test, dire consequences might follow. Which brings us to the Korean myths we’re discussing this month, based on superstitious study habits and beliefs.
There are a few traditional beliefs that many students follow in order to successfully get through tests. One such belief involves shampoo, or rather, a lack thereof. On the day of the big test, or the night before, some students will take showers without washing their hair. They believe they might lose all the information and knowledge gained from all the cramming and studying for the exam. Washing your hair before a test might bring bad luck. The more important the test, the more likely a student will observe this tradition.
Everyone living in Korea has eaten the popular soup called 미역국 (miyukgook), but did you know this soup can spell doom for test takers? Students won’t eat it before an exam. The thought process is this: miyukgook is a seaweed soup. Sea weed is considered to have a slippery texture, so if it is eaten one might slip and fail the test. The Korean phrase 미끄러지다 (mee-kuh-ruh-jee-dah) means both to slip and to fail, so you can see how this belief emerged from the language.
Not all pre-test superstitions involve restraint. Some involve eating. Students eat 엿 (yeot) before taking the Korean version of the SAT. It’s similar to taffy but more like a hard candy, though still sticky. 붙다 (bootdah) means to stick to something, and also to pass an exam. Since it’s the same word, students eat yeot as a way to bring good luck.
If you’re wondering why they don’t apply these homonym-based beliefs to more modern foods, keep in mind that these superstitions involve only traditional Korean items. You won’t find beliefs about slippery banana peels, silicone spray, fly paper or masking tape supplanting the superstitions about miyukgook or yeot any time soon.
Have you ever seen a student receive a fork as a gift before taking a big test? Students get forks from their friends or family for good luck. The verb 찍다 (jjikdah) means to spear (as if eating food with a fork), and also to “take a stab at” a multiple-choice answer, and get it right. Who would have thought that people would find such symbolism in a fork?
Always remember that as with other superstitions and beliefs, not every Korean person holds the same ideas, and there are probably far more people who do not follow these traditions than there are those who do. Taking tests in Korea is something which brings a huge amount of stress on young people, an unfortunate coming-of-age process that most, if not all, have to go through at some point. Perhaps in the future the nature of test results will not be so critical as they have been. In the meantime, when you see a stressed student with unkempt hair eating a sticky brown candy, you can simply wish them “행운을 빌어요” (haengun biroyo): good luck.