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Cases continue to emerge in Korea of weddings being canceled because of unfavorable fortune readings or compatibility predictions.
One woman recently shared online that her engagement was abruptly broken off after her would-be mother-in-law consulted a fortune teller. The couple had already held formal family introduction meetings and nearly finished preparing wedding gifts and household items. But according to the woman, her intended’s mother later declared that “their fortunes showed they could neither live together nor marry,” and unilaterally canceled the wedding.
The story reignited debate over the influence of traditional fortune telling, called “saju” in Korean, and marital compatibility beliefs in modern society.
According to a 2026 survey by Gallup Korea of 1,507 adults nationwide, 39 percent of respondents said that if a child or relative had extremely poor saju reading for marital compatibility with their partner, “it would be better not to marry.” Meanwhile, 59 percent said “marrying anyway is fine.”
Opposition to “bad compatibility marriages” was higher among women at 47 percent than men at 30 percent, and only 22 percent of people in their 20s agreed while 49 percent of respondents 60 years old and older thought it was a good reason to cancel.
Interestingly, views have changed little over the past four decades: 38 percent opposed getting married if a saju reading was unfavorable in 1983, while 34 percent thought so in 2004 and 39 percent in 2026.
Researchers noted that people tend to become more cautious about compatibility as they age, likely influenced by real-life experiences.
For middle-aged parents, who already met their prospective in-laws and prepared expensive wedding gifts, a sudden breakup can be emotionally devastating.
Many people online reacted with disbelief, asking: “In the era of artificial intelligence, people still break off marriages over fortune telling?”
Some disputes have escalated into lawsuits for damages after canceled engagements.
Belief in fortune telling remains deeply rooted in Korean society. The same Gallup Korea survey found that 40 percent said they believe in saju readings, face reading or other fortune telling practices. That figure is nearly identical to the 40 percent recorded in 1991.
At 50 percent of respondents, women were far more likely than men to believe in fortune-telling, with only 20 percent of men agreeing. Belief increased with age.
Belief levels had dipped over time, with 40 percent agreeing in 1991, 34 percent in 2004 and 31 percent in 2009. By 2026, the number had returned to 40 percent.
Among respondents, 22 percent of men and 58 percent of women said they had paid for fortune telling services.
The figure was especially high among older women: Only 8 percent of men in their 20s had paid for readings, while 71percent of women aged 60 and older had done so.
Gallup Korea suggested that even people who are not personally interested in fortune telling may still be indirectly exposed through parents or spouses who consult fortune tellers.
Among those who paid for readings, 59 percent said the readings “matched reality” and 71 percent said they used fortune tellers’ advice in decision-making
However, Gallup noted that the survey does not prove a causal relationship between belief in fortune telling and perceptions that predictions came true.
This article from Kormedi.com, Korea’s top health care and medical portal, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.
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