Every tribe, community, country, have thier dos and don’t which are the rules guiding such people.
As a foreigner in such a community or country, it is important you learn their ways of life, know their dos and don’t before going there in other not to fall on the wrong side of their law.
In South Korea, writing a person’s name with red ink is not acceptable and can land you in jail.
It will be believed that you want are wishing harm or death upon them. There are several reasons that came to this conclusion;
The first theory is that RED is symbolic of death, as it is the same color as BLOOD.
Therefore, if someone’s name is written in red, then death or bad luck will come to that person very soon.
The second theory is rooted in Korean history. That is, when Grand Prince Suyang, the second son of King Sejong the Great of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1897), was plotting a coup, he used RED ink to make a hit list of enemies on the opposing side.
The Koreans believe that when someone’s name is written in red, such a person is a target to be taken down.
The third theory claims that during the Korean War, RED ink was used to strike out the name of a dead civilian or soldiers killed in action. So, red is used to record a dead person’s name in the family register and on funeral banners.
It’s believed that writing the dead person’s name in red ink wards off evil spirits.
However, when the name of a living person is written in red, the reverse effect occurs, so only the names of the deceased are written in red.
Whatever the case is, it is clear that RED is associated with unlucky, ominous events such as death, so it is something to look out for especially if your favorite color is RED.
The only time that red ink is considered permissible is when used with a chop, a name stamp. These are often used in lieu of signatures in Korea. The red stamp makes a document official.
Whatever your reason, many Koreans still consider it very rude to write someone’s name in red ink. So, if you are visiting Korea any time, remember not to write a person’s name in red ink.
