Stories
Korean wishing customs, ways to make a wish stick, messages of encouragement, and how to use Wishing Stone Cairn.
- 40 Good Luck Messages for Exams — Warm Words Without the PressureWhat to say to someone facing a big exam: 40 encouraging messages for the week before, the night before, the morning of and after the test, plus phrases to avoid and tips for writing your own.
- Jeongwol Daeboreum: How Koreans Make a Wish on the First Full MoonJeongwol Daeboreum is the first full moon of the lunar new year, when Koreans greet the rising moon with a wish. When it falls, how to make a moon-viewing wish, and the meaning behind nut-cracking, five-grain rice and moon-house bonfires.
- Why Koreans Make Wishes on Stone Cairns — From Village Shrines to Maisan TapsaWhat do the little stacks of stones on Korean mountain trails mean? The origins of seonangdang stone mounds, the story of Maisan's stone towers, and etiquette for building a wishing cairn.
- 5 Habits That Turn Wishes Into Reality — What Research Says About Writing a WishIs wishing enough? Five research-backed methods you can use today: writing specific wishes, picturing obstacles with WOOP, if-then plans, daily reminders and sharing your goal.
- 7 Ways Koreans Make a Wish — Sunrise, Lanterns, Paper Wishes and Love LocksFrom New Year's sunrise on the east coast to lotus lanterns for Buddha's Birthday, paper wishes on Daeboreum bonfires and the love locks of Namsan Tower: seven Korean wishing customs and what they mean.
- How to Use Wishing Stone Cairn — Stones, Moss, Silver & Gold, and Gift StonesA guide for first-time visitors: adding a wish stone, wiping the moss and building a care streak, how stones climb the cairn, silver and gold upgrades, gift stones, declaring a wish granted and signing up.