Surveying the fate beliefs behind Koreans’ visits to fortune-tellers, the study found that the biggest belief — and the best predictor of fortune-telling — is yeongmyeong-gwan (역명관): fate is set, but effort can change it.
Explanatory Variable of Fate Consumption Behavior: Content and Structure of Fate's Orientation
운명 소비행동에 대한 탐색적 연구: 운명관의 내용과 구조를 중심으로
QUESTION
What are the content and structure of the fate beliefs behind Koreans’ “fate consumption” (paying for saju, fortune-telling, and the like), and do fate beliefs and locus of control explain that behavior?
FINDINGS
Factor analysis showed Korean fate beliefs consist of four types: changeable fate, self-made fate, hereditary fate, and fixed fate.
한국인의 운명관은 역명관, 조명관, 유전결정편 정명관(설명분산 쉰으로 구성되어 있었다Koreans’ fate orientation consisted of yeongmyeong-gwan (changeable fate), jomyeong-gwan (self-made fate), hereditary determinism, and jeongmyeong-gwan (fixed fate)…p11The largest of the four was yeongmyeong-gwan (역명관) — the belief that even a set fate can be changed by effort.
한국인의 운명관에서 설명 분산이 가장 큰 요인은 역명관이었다In Koreans’ fate orientation, the factor explaining the most variance was yeongmyeong-gwan.p11역명관은 '운명은 태어날 때부터 정해지지만 인위적 노력으로 바꿀 수 있다는 믿음으로 정의하였다Yeongmyeong-gwan was defined as 'the belief that fate is set at birth but can be changed by deliberate effort.'p7Yeongmyeong-gwan also best explained past experience of fortune-telling and intention to use it in future.
운명 소비행뒤소비경험 과 소비의도)에 대해 역명관의 설명력이 가장 높은 것으로 나타났다For fate consumption behavior (consumption experience and intention), yeongmyeong-gwan had the highest explanatory power.p11So the author reads fortune-telling not as merely checking a fixed fate, but as an attempt to build a better future.
운명 소비행동은 더욱 긍정적인 미래를 만들기 위한 하나의 시도인 것이다Fate consumption behavior is an attempt to create a more positive future.p11한국인의 운명 소비행동은 단순히자신이나 가족의 정해진 운명을 확인하기 위한소비행동이 아닌 것이다Koreans' fate consumption is not simply consumption to confirm the fixed fate of oneself or one's family.p11IN DAILY LIFE
Every New Year, people ritually consult the Tojeong Bigyeol (토정비결) almanac and check weekly or daily horoscopes in newspapers, magazines, and websites.
매년 연초가 되면 의례적으로 토정비결을 본다. 일간 신문, 각종 잡지, 인터넷 사이트에서 주간 운세, 오늘의 운세를Every year at the start of the year, we ritually read the Tojeong Bigyeol, and in daily newspapers, magazines, and websites, weekly and daily fortunes…p2When things go wrong, people blame their saju palja (사주팔자, the fate read from one’s birth date and hour) — “I live a hard life because my palja is ill-starred,” “wealth is sent from heaven.”
어떤 일이 잘못되었을 때 사주팔자 탓을 한대예 . 팔자가 기구하여 어렵게 산다거나 부자는 하늘이 내린다When something goes wrong, we blame our saju palja (e.g., living hard because one’s palja is ill-starred, or wealth being sent down from heaven).p3In depth
This paper, more closely — every sentence carries an original quote and page number.
Background
In one survey about 48% of respondents had had their saju read and 42% had visited a fortune-teller — yet psychology had barely studied this common behavior.
조사대상자의 약 48%가 역술인에게 사주를, 42%가 점복가에게 점을 본 적이 있다고 응답하였대About 48% of respondents said they had had their saju read by a fortune-teller, and 42% had had their fortune told by a diviner.p2소비자 심리학 뿐아니라 심리학전반에서도 이를 주제로 다룬 연구는 거의 없는실정이다Not only in consumer psychology but across psychology, there is almost no research on this topic.p2Because Korean fate beliefs had not been systematically discussed, the equation “Korean view of fate = fatalism” went unchallenged.
한국인의 운명관은 곧 숙명론이라는 등식이 통용되고 있다The equation that Koreans’ view of fate is simply fatalism is in circulation.p3Method
Reviewing Eastern classics and the writings of the Hundred Schools and Joseon Neo-Confucian scholars, the author sorted fate beliefs into three types (fixed, changeable, self-made), then built a survey and analyzed it with factor, correlation, and regression analyses.
불성실하게 응답한 경우가 많았다 최종적으로 352명의 자료를 분석하였다…many answered insincerely. In the end, data from 352 people were analyzed.p8동양 고전과 관련 문헌들을 고찰한 결과, 한국인의 운명관은 정명관, 역명관,조명관으로 대분될 수 있었다Reviewing Eastern classics and related literature, Korean fate beliefs could be broadly divided into fixed, changeable, and self-made fate.p1제자백가와 조선 성리학자들의 문헌에 바탕하여 운명관을 정명관, 역명관, 조명관의세 가지로 정리해 보았다Based on the writings of the Hundred Schools and Joseon Neo-Confucian scholars, fate beliefs were organized into three: fixed, changeable, and self-made.p6용답자들에게 내재화된 운명관의 구조를 알아보기 위해 요인 분석을 실시하였다Factor analysis was conducted to examine the structure of fate beliefs internalized by respondents.p8그런데 네 가지 운명관간 상관이 있었기때문에 부분 상관계Because the four fate beliefs were correlated, partial correlation coefficients [were computed].p10단계적 회귀분석(stepwiseregression analysis)을 실시하였디A stepwise regression analysis was conducted.p11광역시 소재 만 18세 이상의남/여 성인Adult men and women aged 18 or older living in a metropolitan cityp8표본 추출방법으로는 충화 할당 표집(stratified quota sampling)을 사용하였다Stratified quota sampling was used as the sampling method.p8각 구안에서 성별과결혼 여부에 따른 4개의 셀에 25명씩을 할당하여표집하였다Within each district, 25 people were assigned to each of four cells by sex and marital status.p8차재호 등(1973)이 번역, 수정하여 표준화한 21문행(6문항은 허구문항)을 그대로 사용하였다The 21 items (6 of them filler items) translated, revised, and standardized by Cha et al. (1973) were used as is.p8사주, 점, 관상, 궁합 등에 대한 이용 경험 빈도와 향후 소비 의도를 두 문항으로 측정하였다Frequency of using saju, fortune-telling, face reading, marital compatibility, etc., and future intention were measured with two items.p8Detailed findings
Respondents saw fate decided by heredity (like height or intelligence) as a separate dimension from fixed or changeable fate.
응답자들은 유전에 의해 결정되는 운명관(유전결정관)을 정명관이나 역명관과 다른 하나의 독립적인 차원으로 인식하고 있었다Respondents perceived fate determined by heredity (hereditary determinism) as an independent dimension distinct from fixed or changeable fate.p9유전에 해당하는 요소들(키, 용되 지능, 병 등)을 정명관(또는 역명관)으로 구분하고[The researcher] classed hereditary elements (height, appearance, intelligence, illness, etc.) as fixed (or changeable) fate…p9Respondents treated every attempt to change or improve the future — talismans (bujeok, 부적), auspicious dates, propitious grave sites, shamanic rituals (gut, 굿) — as changeable-fate belief.
부적이나 택일, 명당, 굿 등을 통해 정해져 있든 그렇지 않든, 미래를 바꾸거나 더 긍정적으로 만들려는 모든 시도를 역명관으로 보고 있었다…they regarded every attempt to change the future or make it more positive through talismans, choosing auspicious dates, propitious sites, gut rituals, etc., whether fate is set or not, as yeongmyeong-gwan.p9Fixed-fate belief related negatively to changeable fate and positively to self-made fate — contrary to the researcher’s expectations.
정명관은 역명관과 부적 상관, 조명관과 정적 상관이 있는 것으로 나타났다. 이는 연구자의 예상과 어긋나는 결과이다Jeongmyeong-gwan correlated negatively with yeongmyeong-gwan and positively with jomyeong-gwan. This runs contrary to the researcher’s expectation.p9External locus of control (believing outside forces decide outcomes) went with fixed fate; internal locus of control went with self-made fate.
외적 통제 소재는 정명관과 관련이 있었고, 내적 통제 소재는 조명관과 관련이 있었다External locus of control was related to jeongmyeong-gwan, and internal locus of control to jomyeong-gwan.p10Changeable-fate belief, by contrast, had no meaningful link to locus of control. The author sees it as a distinctive belief about fate: outside one's control, yet not governed by external forces alone.
역명관은 통제 소재와 유의미한 상관(부분상관)이 없었다Yeongmyeong-gwan had no significant (partial) correlation with locus of control.p12역명관은개인의 통제 범위 밖에 있으면서도 외부의 힘만으로 좌우되는 것이 아닌 독특한 운명에 대한 신념이라 할 수 있다Changeable-fate belief can be called a distinctive belief about fate that lies outside one's control yet is not governed by external forces alone.p12Among respondents who had looked into their fate, 38% did so through fortune-tellers and 42% through websites.
이들 중 38%는 역학자나 점술가를 통해 운명 소비를 하였고, 42%는 인터넷 사이트를 통해Of these, 38% consumed fate services through fortune-tellers or diviners, and 42% through websites…p8전체응답자의 673%가 어떤 형태로든 자신이나 가족의 운명을 알아본 적이 있는 것으로 나타났다67.3% of all respondents had looked into their own or their family's fate in some form.p8Because people believe fate is set but changeable, they must first learn their fate to change it — which, the author argues, is why they consult fortune-tellers.
운명을 바꾸려면 먼저 자신의 정해진 그 운명, 미래를 알아야 하는 것이다To change one’s fate, one must first know that set fate — one’s future.p12Authors’ interpretation
Changeable-fate belief differs from resigned fatalism because it leads to deliberate effort to overcome a set fate rather than settling for it.
역명관은 정해진 운명에 단순히 안주하지 않고 이를 타개하기 위해 인위적 노력으로 이어진다는 점에서 체념적 숙명론과 다르다Yeongmyeong-gwan differs from resigned fatalism in that it does not simply settle for a set fate but leads to deliberate effort to overcome it.p11Problem-solving based on this belief is neither transcending reality nor psychological defense, but an indirect approach: moving the force that governs one’s hardship (the ruler of fate).
눈앞의 역경을 좌우하는 힘의 주체(운명 주재자)를 움직이려는 해결방식이다…a way of solving problems by moving the agent of power (the ruler of fate) that governs the adversity before one’s eyes.p11눈앞의 문제를 그대로 둔 채 초연한 자세를 취하는 현실 초월적이거나 심리 방어적 방식이 아니다…is not a reality-transcending or psychologically defensive approach that leaves the problem at hand and adopts a detached stance.p11For Koreans, then, consulting a fortune-teller is the first step in everyday problem-solving.
한국인에게 운명 소비행동은 일상적인 문제 해결 방식 가운데 첫 번째 단계에 해당한다For Koreans, fate consumption behavior is the first step among everyday ways of solving problems.p12Limits the authors note
The sample came from one region and was skewed, so the results are hard to generalize to all Koreans.
지역적 특수성과 편파성을 가진 표본에서 나온 결과라는 것도 사실이기 때문이다…it is also true that the results come from a sample with regional particularity and bias.p12본 연구 결과를 한국인 전체의 운명관에대한 명확한 결과로 해석하는 것은 과잉일반화의우려가 있다Interpreting these results as definitive for the fate beliefs of all Koreans risks overgeneralization.p12Reliability of the fate-belief items was not adequately secured; some items need revising or dropping.
운명관 각 문항에 대한 신뢰도 확보에 미흡했다는 점도…that securing reliability for each fate-orientation item was insufficient…p12운명관 구성문항들의 신뢰도를 높이기 위해서는 몇 문항을 수정하거나 배제할 필요가 있다To raise the reliability of the fate-belief items, some items need to be revised or excluded.p12Key terms
Jeongmyeong-gwan (정명관, fixed fate) The belief that fate is decided at birth and cannot be changed by human strength or effort.
운명은 태어날 때부터 이미 또는 미리 정해져 있어서 인간의 힘이나 노력으로 어찌할 수 없다는 믿음The belief that fate is already or beforehand set from birth, so that human strength or effort can do nothing about it.p7Yeongmyeong-gwan (역명관, changeable fate) The belief that fate is set at birth but can be changed by human effort.
운명은 태어날 때부터 정해지지만 인위적 노력으로 바꿀 수 있다는 믿음The belief that fate is set from birth but can be changed by deliberate effort.p7Jomyeong-gwan (조명관, self-made fate) The belief that fate is not set but can be made by oneself.
조명관은 '운명은 정해지지 않고 만들어 갈 수 있다는 믿음으로 정의하였다Jomyeong-gwan was defined as the belief that fate is not set and can be made.p8