Fan Death

Let's get silly. I am about to teach you about something that may save your life. Or, it is just an ignorant Korean urban legend that affects virtually all Korean citizens. I have had discussions about this topic with well-educated co-workers who believe every word of it to be true.

The theory of fan death goes something like this: if a person is inside a sealed room - doors and windows closed - and they are utilizing a fan, within time they will die. Although there is little explanation beyond this basic theory, it is a widely-held belief. There are many death certificates with this in Korea cited as the official cause of death. Ask a Korean person how this is possible and they will have trouble explaining it, but that does not mean they will not believe it.

Now I'm no doctor (although as most of you know, I did major in nutrition in college) but I have a hard time believing this theory. There are theories that the carbon dioxide levels will rise due to the fan, there are theories that air blowing by your face will change the way you breath and there are theories that the fan will come to life and brutally attack you with whatever knife or chainsaw is available. I'm still not sure how possible any of these scenarios are, but I know that people around me in this country have warned me often about allowing a fan to run in my room. There is a genuine sense of concern when you tell people that you are opening yourself to the possibility of fan death.

I have racked my brain to find an equivalent belief in my homeland, but I have had trouble pin-pointing one. I think horoscopes and the belief that marijuana is worse than alcohol are approaching the same level of societal ignorance, but neither are as widespread or dumb.

For now, I'm not going to worry about it and I'm going to keep staying cool in my apartment during these warm summer months, but if I wind up dead and my fan was on, you all will know how it happened. Probably a heroin overdose...

Much love from Seoul