By Korea.net Honorary Reporter Mai Nashaat from Egypt

Sometimes, I wonder why millions of holiday makers look forward to travelling to the west, toward where the sun sleeps. They would have a much more exciting holiday if they headed toward the east, where the sun rises. East Asian beauty is definitely represented by the wonderful world of Korea, which is one of the most popular holiday destinations for a huge number of tourists and visitors.

Korean houses hide a number of eccentric beliefs under their roofs. To begin with, you might be surprised to know that if you had been born in Korea, you would now today be one year older than your current, actual age. That's because people in Korea believe that a baby is already 1-year-old when it comes out of the womb, not 0-years-old like everyone else, so you get one additional year added to your actual age for the rest of your life.

Also, people in Korea believe that leaving an electric fan turned on overnight could kill anyone sleeping in the room.

For many people around the world, it's normal to celebrate your birthday with your relatives, classmates, coworkers, neighbors or favorite friends, and to enjoy some cake or pie, and have some soft drinks. However, you might be excited to learn that people in Korea eat seaweed soup on their birthdays. This special soup is to remind the person of their mother's suffering during pregnancy, and this type of food is also given to a new mother to speed up her recovery.

How people in Korea think about numbers is also interesting. For example, the number seven is always regarded as a lucky number, while many people consider the number four to be a symbol of misfortune.

All in all, learning about the beliefs that some people have here can amuse tourists even more than visiting some of Korea's natural beauty. Don't settle for solely reading about these eccentric beliefs. Go and see for yourself, and don't forget that readers never get the same enjoyment as visitors.

wisdom117@korea.kr

* This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.