Isadora Nunes Thomazini poses with a paper containing her "saju" or Korean fortune, at Eros Saju Café in western Seoul, Feb. 6. Korea Times photo by Park Ung
On a snowy day in Seoul earlier this month, Isadora Nunes Thomazini entered a divination shop, eager to gain insight into her future. Having lived in Korea for four years, the 21-year-old Brazilian was particularly curious about her career prospects after graduating from university next February.
Fortuneteller Ha Ryoon gave a reassuring answer to her worries.
“If you secure a job in Brazil this October, you could make a lot of money. Your financial luck will last until 2027,” he said, studying Thomazini's "saju" chart, which was filled with colorful Chinese characters.
Saju is a Korean form of fortunetelling that uses a person's birth year, month, day and hour — called the four pillars — to determine their destiny.
"I did receive a job offer from a tour guide company in Brazil, but wasn't sure if I should take it. However, if what you're saying is true, I think I should accept it," Thomazini replied.
The 30-minute conversation between Thomazini and Ha felt like any other session at Seoul's divination shops — except for one key difference: Ha, slightly puzzled, found it strange that he could analyze Isadora's destiny, given that she was from Brazil, a South American country with seasonal cycles entirely opposite to those in East Asia.
The problem is that there is no clear method for reading the saju of people living in the Southern Hemisphere.
Ha Ryoon, right, a fortuneteller, reads Brazilian client Isadora Thomazini's divination chart at Eros Saju Café in western Seoul, Feb. 6. Korea Times photo by Park Ung
Saju is based on the belief that the timing of birth affects one's balance of yin and yang, as well as the five elements (wood, fire, earth, metal and water), all of which are thought to influence each individual's personality and life path.
The ancient Chinese created a sexagenary cycle to describe the changes of yin and yang and the five elements based on their country's geographical and seasonal environments, according to Moon Sang-deok, a professor at Dongbang Culture University.
This cycle, originally used as a calendar, later formed the foundation of saju, making it applicable to those born in the Northern Hemisphere, where seasonal changes align with those of China. Because the seasons are reversed in the Southern Hemisphere, most fortunetellers have differing opinions on how to interpret the destinies of people from the other side of the equator and are often uncertain about their interpretations.
A tablet screen displays a client's divination calendar at Eros Saju Café in western Seoul, Feb. 6. Korea Times photo by Park Ung
This is why Ha said that, although Thomazini agrees with nearly "95 percent" of what he tells her, he finds it mysterious how the analysis can be so accurate.
"I'm not 100 percent sure about my explanation of her destiny, because saju was developed by people from the Northern Hemisphere," said the fortuneteller, who has over 30 years of experience. "Before the consultation, I wondered whether my interpretation would be accurate. I need to study more to understand how I managed to get things right."
With his extensive experience reading birth charts for many non-Koreans in the trendy Hongdae area of western Seoul, he did not use a different method to analyze Thomazini's destiny compared to his approach with Koreans.
Kim Dong-wan, an adjunct professor at Dongguk University-affiliated Future Convergence Education Center, offers a simpler solution: just change one of the four pillars.
"As there are no changes in seasons between the two hemispheres due to the year, day and hour, adjusting only the months would theoretically help in interpreting the destiny of those from the Southern Hemisphere," he said.
He acknowledged, however, that this idea is theoretically possible and requires data from at least thousands of interpretations of individuals born in the Southern Hemisphere.
"There is no consensus among experts on this issue and even attempts to establish theories are challenging, as many still disagree on how to interpret the destinies of those from the Southern Hemisphere," Kim added.
Kim Tea-bum, the owner of Eros Saju Café in Seoul, has witnessed many fortunetellers fiercely debating how to interpret the saju of people born south of the equator.
He remembers fortunetellers at the shop discussing what to do in such cases. Some argued that certain factors should be adjusted for greater accuracy, while others disagreed, saying adjustments weren't necessary.
“We used to read only Koreans' birth charts with saju, but as more people from other countries started visiting, we've gone through a period of change and there's been a lot of discussion about it," he said. "I believe there is no definitive answer to this problem.”
Indeed, the number of non-Koreans seeking advice about their future through saju continues to grow.
The market size of Korea's fortunetelling industry was estimated at 1.4 trillion won ($970 million) last year, according to market research firm InnoForest. Given that many transactions for such consultations are conducted in cash and not fully recorded, the actual market size is believed to be even larger, the company added.
While acknowledging the clear limits of saju, Kim, the owner of the cafe, said that it can still serve as a means for finding peace and clarity in life.
"Some people from politically turbulent countries seek interpretations of saju," he said. "I remember one person from Libya who came here looking so peaceful, almost as if he hadn't come from a place of such high political unrest."
This sense of peace is similar to what Thomazini felt after her first experience with a fortunetelling practice she had never encountered in her home country.
"This was a very new and interesting experience for me. I was initially skeptical and didn't expect much, but I found that most of what the fortuneteller said about my past and characteristics made sense, which was very surprising. I feel like I can live my life with more confidence now," she said.