# How wide discussed is "fan death" as a myth in South Korea? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 22, 2012, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-wide-discussed-is-fan-death-as-a-myth-in-south-korea/622740 "2012-05-22T17:49:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-wide-discussed-is-fan-death-as-a-myth-in-south-korea/622740/21 "2012-05-23T15:12:35Z")
I’ve heard of leaving out milk and cookies for Santa…but who are these little people? Should I be concerned? ---
**Author:** ![picker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/picker/32/13969_2.png) [@picker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picker)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-wide-discussed-is-fan-death-as-a-myth-in-south-korea/622740/22 "2012-05-23T15:15:22Z")
Very. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-wide-discussed-is-fan-death-as-a-myth-in-south-korea/622740/23 "2012-05-23T15:16:21Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > 김정일은 작은 성기를 가지고 [Costanza] Do girls know about formadehyde shrinkage?!? [/costanza] ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-wide-discussed-is-fan-death-as-a-myth-in-south-korea/622740/24 "2012-05-23T15:17:16Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Want to hear more “bad science” from Korean society? Ask someone here about mad cow disease, specifically its cause being American beef. “Here”? My parents live in Texas and believe in both fan death and that a single cow having Mad Cow in Europe means ALL beef is tainted (at least for a while, until they start eating beef again after the scare dies down). I wouldn’t say it’s really about being oblivious to what other cultures think. They just don’t care. What other people believe isn’t relevant or important. And it’s not limited to non-Koreans. They don’t care what other groups of Koreans believe, if it contradicts what they “know”. And they are occasionally exasperated when my brother and I contradict what is common sense to them. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-wide-discussed-is-fan-death-as-a-myth-in-south-korea/622740/25 "2012-05-23T15:19:15Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > It just seems to me that the point of such a shirt is that it would seem ridiculous to the rest of us if only we could read it. It seems to be meant as an in-joke amongst those who can. Correct. But as far as people being offended, the ones most likely to take offense - the ones who fervently believe in the existence of fan death - are the ones least likely to realize that the shirt is being presented as a joke rather than a public service announcement. ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-wide-discussed-is-fan-death-as-a-myth-in-south-korea/622740/26 "2012-05-23T15:22:37Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Want to hear more “bad science” from Korean society? Ask someone here about mad cow disease, specifically its cause being American beef. To be fair, I’m sure many countries have their fair share of erroneous beliefs being manipulated by the media for political purposes. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-wide-discussed-is-fan-death-as-a-myth-in-south-korea/622740/27 "2012-05-23T15:23:11Z")
> [@hibernicus](#): > > How long would it take to end the belief in western countries that getting wet or cold will give you a cold (or flu, or pneumonia, or “your death of cold”)? Even if it were proved to someone beyond doubt that it wasn’t factually true, they would still go away “knowing” in their hearts that it really was. > > I wouldn’t be surprised if what you’re describing in Korea is the same sort of deep-seated belief. I think that’s an excellent comparison. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-wide-discussed-is-fan-death-as-a-myth-in-south-korea/622740/28 "2012-05-23T16:09:37Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > You would? Why? What does that even mean? I also didn’t understand it and ignore the post. By the way, I would not travel to Korea and wear the fan death shirt. I’m in the US now and would find it personally kind of funny/quirky. > [@hibernicus](#): > > How long would it take to end the belief in western countries that getting wet or cold will give you a cold (or flu, or pneumonia, or “your death of cold”)? Or that drinking cold liquids causes illness, which is commonly believed in quite a few countries. > [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > I’ve heard of leaving out milk and cookies for Santa…but who are these little people? Should I be concerned? They sneak in and turn fans on. > [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > “Here”? He’s in Korea, I assume. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-wide-discussed-is-fan-death-as-a-myth-in-south-korea/622740/29 "2012-05-23T16:18:04Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > They sneak in and turn fans on. Step 1. sneak in, turn fans on, take milk. Step 2. Step 3…PROFIT! ---
**Author:** ![Sister\_Vigilante](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Sister\_Vigilante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sister_Vigilante)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-wide-discussed-is-fan-death-as-a-myth-in-south-korea/622740/30 "2012-05-23T17:11:45Z")
His name is TruCelt. He’s probably Irish (or even Celtic). You guys never heard of leprechauns? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-wide-discussed-is-fan-death-as-a-myth-in-south-korea/622740/31 "2012-05-23T17:41:54Z")
It’s not entirely a Korean thing. I have heard a few times that sleeping with a fan is “bad for you.” It may have even come from my mother, who last time I checked is not Korean. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-wide-discussed-is-fan-death-as-a-myth-in-south-korea/622740/32 "2012-05-23T18:08:50Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > I think that’s an excellent comparison. Maybe. But I think it’s much, much easier to prove that fan death is not true than to prove that getting wet or cold doesn’t cause illness. As I mentioned the last time this thread came up, the very previous night I had happened to sleep in a room with doors and windows shut and the fan running all night. No death (unless I am a very eloquent zombie). Get wet or cold and you have sniffles and your nose runs…and if you happen to catch a cold within a week of that, probably because you were around lots of people, it’s easy to correlate the two together. And it’s very hard to prove nay, even if you douse a bunch of people who never get sick. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-wide-discussed-is-fan-death-as-a-myth-in-south-korea/622740/33 "2012-05-23T18:10:49Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > It’s not entirely a Korean thing. I have heard a few times that sleeping with a fan is “bad for you.” It may have even come from my mother, who last time I checked is not Korean. I’ve definitely heard of the idea that a fan blowing on you for extended periods can cause the sniffles, but fan death is quite a leap to make. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-wide-discussed-is-fan-death-as-a-myth-in-south-korea/622740/34 "2012-05-23T18:38:44Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > He’s in Korea, I assume. Yeah, I got that. My post was to illustrate that even among Koreans in the US (and presumably elsewhere), the idea that electric fans can lead to death is pervasive and not easily displaced. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-wide-discussed-is-fan-death-as-a-myth-in-south-korea/622740/35 "2012-05-23T19:03:58Z")
> [@hibernicus](#): > > How long would it take to end the belief in western countries that getting wet or cold will give you a cold (or flu, or pneumonia, or “your death of cold”)? Even if it were proved to someone beyond doubt that it wasn’t factually true, they would still go away “knowing” in their hearts that it really was. > > I wouldn’t be surprised if what you’re describing in Korea is the same sort of deep-seated belief. I don’t know. Nothing seems to give us Americans more pleasure than to be able to say “You know, people think that’s true _but actually_…” and then show how much smarter you are than everyone else. In fact, I’ve seen that attitude (and remark) used directly on the “cold/wet = sick” belief. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-wide-discussed-is-fan-death-as-a-myth-in-south-korea/622740/36 "2012-05-23T19:35:49Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > I don’t know. Nothing seems to give us Americans more pleasure than to be able to say “You know, people think that’s true _but actually_…” and then show how much smarter you are than everyone else. In fact, I’ve seen that attitude (and remark) used directly on the “cold/wet = sick” belief. Right, I kind of figured Korea would have a bunch of people saying the same kind of thing regarding fan death. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-wide-discussed-is-fan-death-as-a-myth-in-south-korea/622740/37 "2012-05-23T20:48:25Z")
I had no idea this was a thing. I should have died every day when I was a child. We had no air conditioning and I would put big fan about 5 inches from my face to sleep. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-wide-discussed-is-fan-death-as-a-myth-in-south-korea/622740/38 "2012-05-24T00:57:37Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > I’ve heard of leaving out milk and cookies for Santa…but who are these little people? Should I be concerned? Uh…no one read you “The Elves and the Shoemaker” when you were a kid? That’s a shame. Here, [read it now](http://www.authorama.com/grimms-fairy-tales-39.html). The version I linked to doesn’t specifically mention milk, but [those are the little people you leave it out for](http://www.tellinghistory.co.uk/resources/mff.htm), since the “elves” in the tale are more like brownies than other concepts of elves. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-wide-discussed-is-fan-death-as-a-myth-in-south-korea/622740/39 "2012-05-24T01:22:28Z")
Can I leave out soy milk for the lactose intolerant little people? ---
**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-wide-discussed-is-fan-death-as-a-myth-in-south-korea/622740/40 "2012-05-24T02:29:04Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > I think that’s an excellent comparison. Actually, it’s a poor comparison. It’s a common meme on these boards that exposure to cold does not cause colds or flu, but that’s a simplistic view that is not shared by all experts. Even if you reject the claims by the authors of the papers below, they put forward proper hypotheses. Fan death proponents? Not so much. [R. Eccles (2002) An Explanation for the Seasonality of Acute Upper Respiratory Tract Viral Infections. Acta Oto-laryngologica, Vol. 122, No. 2 , Pages 183-191](http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00016480252814207) “This review will discuss some of the ideas concerning the seasonality of URTI and put forward a new hypothesis for discussion, namely that seasonal exposure to cold air causes an increase in the incidence of URTI due to cooling of the nasal airway. The hypothesis is supported by literature reports demonstrating that inhalation of cold air causes cooling of the nasal epithelium, and that this reduction in nasal temperature is sufficient to inhibit respiratory defences against infection such as mucociliary clearance and the phagocytic activity of leukocytes.” [Lowen AC, Mubareka S, Steel J, Palese P (2007) Influenza Virus Transmission Is Dependent on Relative Humidity and Temperature. PLoS Pathog 3(10): e151. doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.0030151](http://www.plospathogens.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.ppat.0030151) "Using the guinea pig as a model host, we show that aerosol spread of influenza virus is dependent upon both ambient relative humidity and temperature. Twenty experiments performed at relative humidities from 20% to 80% and 5 °C, 20 °C, or 30 °C indicated that both cold and dry conditions favor transmission. " [Almirall J, Bolíbar I, Serra-Prat M, Roig J, Hospital I, Carandell E, Agustí M, Ayuso P, Estela A, Torres A (2008) New evidence of risk factors for community-acquired pneumonia: a population-based study. Eur Respir J. 2008 Jun;31(6):1274-84](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18216057) "Multivariable analysis confirmed cigarette smoking, usual contact with children, sudden changes of temperature at work, inhalation therapy (particularly containing steroids and using plastic pear-spacers), oxygen therapy, asthma and chronic bronchitis as independent risk factors. " [Mourtzoukou, E.G., Falagas M.E. (2007) Exposure to cold and respiratory tract infections. The International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, Volume 11, Number 9, September 2007 , pp. 938-943(6)](http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/iuatld/ijtld/2007/00000011/00000009/art00002) "The data available suggest that exposure to cold, either through exposure to low environmental temperatures or during induced hypothermia, increases the risk of developing upper and lower respiratory tract infections and dying from them; in addition, the longer the duration of exposure the higher the risk of infection. Although not all studies agree, most of the available evidence from laboratory and clinical studies suggests that inhaled cold air, cooling of the body surface and cold stress induced by lowering the core body temperature cause pathophysiological responses such as vasoconstriction in the respiratory tract mucosa and suppression of immune responses, which are responsible for increased susceptibility to infections. " [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-wide-discussed-is-fan-death-as-a-myth-in-south-korea/622740.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-wide-discussed-is-fan-death-as-a-myth-in-south-korea/622740.md?page=3)