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Years ago I first took the Wikipedia article at face value. Later on I thought to myself that it’s too far fetched for a majority of people to believe in it. I

Years ago I first took the Wikipedia article at face value. Later on I thought to myself that it’s too far fetched for a majority of people to believe in it. I had also heard that maybe it started as a euphemism for someone who had committed suicide and caught on. Can you shed any light on how common it is? Is it something that people with less education tend to believe?

rubatuga 8y ago
These are just some of my thoughts. Even my parents used to believe in fan death, and both my father and mother are very well educated. My father has a PhD, and my mother has a Masters. The younger generation don't believe in fan death anymore. Still, many of the older Koreans that believe in fan death are very well educated. However, talking to my parents, they were not educated to think critically, and even today that is not a value that is stressed in Korea. Essentially the majority of older Koreans were raised in a society which had dictatorships, coup d'etat, assassinations, censorship, and government controlled media. Koreans had great economic success, but less freedoms, similar to the situation in China today. Questioning the status quo is detrimental, and keeping your mouth shut is a virtue still taught in Korea today. Knowledge such as fan death is just accepted as fact, and it stayed engrained until recently.
- wishinghand 8y ago
  Thanks for filling me in. I can definitely see how that history and culture could make fan death a fact. Follow up: while critical thinking isn't encouraged or taught, does knowledge of the widespread usage of fans and the lack of associated deaths elsewhere ever come into conflict with their worldview?
  - rubatuga 8y ago
    I can ask my parents and get back to you.
chalupa-man 8y ago
It is generational, rather than tied to education. Even very well-educated Koreans born before around 1980 tend to believe in this. I would say it is close to 100% of people over 40. My parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles would call you stupid for not believing in it. My doctor believed in it. Younger people believe in it less often but it is still very common.
- esrauch 8y ago
  I find it kind of facinating. Do they know that most of the rest of the world doesn't believe it? Do they just believe people are dying from fan death in the west but no one has connected the dots for their cause of death?

rubatuga 8y ago

These are just some of my thoughts. Even my parents used to believe in fan death, and both my father and mother are very well educated. My father has a PhD, and my mother has a Masters. The younger generation don't believe in fan death anymore. Still, many of the older Koreans that believe in fan death are very well educated. However, talking to my parents, they were not educated to think critically, and even today that is not a value that is stressed in Korea. Essentially the majority of older Koreans were raised in a society which had dictatorships, coup d'etat, assassinations, censorship, and government controlled media. Koreans had great economic success, but less freedoms, similar to the situation in China today. Questioning the status quo is detrimental, and keeping your mouth shut is a virtue still taught in Korea today. Knowledge such as fan death is just accepted as fact, and it stayed engrained until recently.

wishinghand 8y ago
Thanks for filling me in. I can definitely see how that history and culture could make fan death a fact. Follow up: while critical thinking isn't encouraged or taught, does knowledge of the widespread usage of fans and the lack of associated deaths elsewhere ever come into conflict with their worldview?
- rubatuga 8y ago
  I can ask my parents and get back to you.

chalupa-man 8y ago

It is generational, rather than tied to education. Even very well-educated Koreans born before around 1980 tend to believe in this. I would say it is close to 100% of people over 40. My parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles would call you stupid for not believing in it. My doctor believed in it. Younger people believe in it less often but it is still very common.

esrauch 8y ago
I find it kind of facinating. Do they know that most of the rest of the world doesn't believe it? Do they just believe people are dying from fan death in the west but no one has connected the dots for their cause of death?