From tarot to talismans, young people ring in New Year with their own traditions

Home > Culture > Life & Style

From tarot to talismans, young people ring in New Year with their own traditions

Published: 30 Dec. 2025, 07:00 Updated: 30 Dec. 2025, 09:29

WOO JI-WON
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Myeongtae aekmagi [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Goodbye 2025 — and come on in, 2026.

Every year, the arrival of a new one brings a quiet excitement — the belief that we can begin again with a clean slate, as if life itself could restart. It’s all about manifesting these days.

Seeking to refresh both mind and body, many Koreans have long marked the new year in familiar ways — by gathering on mountain peaks and watching the sunrise or sitting down to a bowl of tteokguk (rice cake soup), repeating the ritual much the same way year after year.

For millennials and Gen Z, however, that ritual has begun to feel a little worn — or perhaps simply too old-fashioned. Instead, many are finding more personal, creative ways to greet the new year — not necessarily to start with a clean slate, but just to begin on a happier note.

New Year saju and tarot

Turning to fortune-telling when feeling uncertain, in need of direction or simply curious about what lies ahead is quite common in Korea.

That impulse, however, tends to intensify as the new year approaches. And with the rise of online fortune-telling services, demand has grown — particularly among younger generations — transforming the practice into something more casual and playful for many.

A hand of a tarot reader nicknamed OngdalSsaem, who offers a New Year reading [SCREEN CAPTURE]

"Toward the end of the year and the beginning of the next, inquiries increase noticeably," said a saju reader nicknamed SeungjoonSsaem. Saju is a traditional Korean form of fortune-telling based on a person's birth information.

"They [those in 20s and 30s] ask how their love life will unfold next year, and with the job market being so difficult, people in their 20s mostly ask about employment, while those in their 30s tend to ask about job changes."

Reflecting its growing popularity, many fortune-telling practitioners — such as Jeon Jin-a of Zina Tarot in South Gyeongsang — now offer dedicated "New Year" sessions that provide an overview of the coming year.

A poster promotes new year tarot readings [SCREEN CAPTURE]

For online tarot sessions, it is the fortune teller who draws the cards on behalf of the client. "Even over the phone, we can sense the energy," Jeon said. "A person's voice, date of birth and name are enough." At Zina Tarot, clients can receive broad overall readings covering their prospects for money, health, love and work.

SeungjoonSsaem said that many millennial and Gen Z clients today already have a strong interest in fortune-telling. "They've often looked into saju here and there, so they come with some background knowledge," he said. "They are more thoughtful and cautious than people assume. They don't approach it religiously; they treat it lightly, almost like MBTI, and that's why interest keeps growing."

Depending on the number of questions or session length, prices typically range from 15,000 won ($10) to as high as 90,000 won.

A poster for Fourtne Salon [SCREEN CAPTURE]

The trend has even spawned large-scale New Year fortune-telling events, including Korea's largest fortune-telling pop-up, the Fortune Salon. The event brings together around 40 tarot readers and shamans in one location in Seongdong District, eastern Seoul, for the new year, running from Dec. 26 to 28, and again from Jan. 2 to 4 of next year.

All attendees receive a free New Year fortune reading and a complimentary good-luck talisman.

Greeting the year on the move

Watching the first sunrise of the year and wishing for better days ahead may be romantic — but increasingly, people are doing more than just watching. They are running toward it.

A person runs along a beach at sunnrise. [GETTY IMAGES BANK]

The phenomenon aligns with Korea's booming running craze, as crews multiply and marathon registration slots sell out within seconds.

On social media, posts recruit participants for "ilchul runs," or sunrise runs, on Jan. 1, 2026, across the country, from a Seoul Forest jaunt to jogs in coastal destinations.

Some posts recommend specific sunrise running routes. One runs along the coastal road in Jeongdongjin, Gangneug, famous for offering one of the earliest sunrises in Korea. Beginning at Jeongdongjin Station, the course hugs the shoreline before ending at Jeongdongjin Sunrise Park.

Instagram posts show people running on New Year’s Day, as well as sunrise running courses [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Another popular option is on Jeju Island, starting at Gwangchigi Beach and heading uphill toward Seongsan Ilchulbong.

In Seoul, one of the most popular sunrise running spots is Mount Namsan. The five-kilometer (3-mile) route runs from the Namsan Library to the Namsan Octagonal Pavilion and up to Namsan Park, offering vantage points for the first sunrise of the year. Many runners also choose to begin the year by running along the Han River and the Yanghwa Bridge, known for sunrise views, on the first day of the year.

There is even an organized event scheduled to be held at 9 a.m. on New Year's Day at the Sinjeonggyo Track and Field Stadium in Yeongduengpo District, western Seoul, with 5-kilometer and 10-kilometer courses available.

"The scale has been growing, from a few hundred participants when we first launched six years ago to 3,000 now," said one of the officials in charge of the event. "Many join in small family groups or individually."

Setting the tone with music

As the clock strikes midnight on New Year's Day, one might hear cheerful music playing from next door.

A list of songs to listen to on the first day of the year [SCREEN CAPUTRE]

Believing that the first song heard in the new year sets the tone for the year ahead, many younger people carefully select their first track of the year. And they are not joking.

People online recommend songs and the exact timestamp at which one should play. Rather than focusing on melody alone, they look at the lyrics.

For those wishing to get rich, popular picks include EXO's "Lotto" (2016) with the lyric "I just hit the lotto," and Lisa's "Money" (2021), with the lyrics "Dolla bills, watch it fallin' for me." The title of a track from duo Norazo itself is quite explanatory: "Successful Meditation Music" (2015).

If one is looking for good luck, ILLIT's "Lucky Girl Syndrome" (2024) — "I am a lucky girl" — is a nice choice. To wish for success not just for oneself but for everyone, turn on Big Bang member Daesung's "A Big Hit " (2009), with a chorus that roughly translates to "I hit it big, and so does everyone else."

Hoping to find love in the coming year? BOL4's 2019 song "Some" includes a Korean lyric that roughly translates to, "Starting today, I'm going to try having something with you."

Some who say they have achieved their goals thanks to their first song of the year even share the track they listened to, crediting it as a kind of good-luck charm.

A screenshot of an X user sharing the song they listened to on the first day of the year — which they say helped them successfully land a job abroad. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

One such post, shared on X by a user named @sso_limited, said they successfully landed a job abroad after listening to a song by IVE. The post had received more than 13,000 likes and 3,300 reposts as of Dec. 24. The song in question was "Rebel Heart," for anyone curious, featuring a line sung by An Yu-jin: "Start as if I achieved it all, end as if I won it all."

Blocking bad luck

In Korea, there is a long-standing concept known as aekmagi — a collective term for actions, objects or rituals believed to ward off bad luck or misfortune before it arrives.

Myeongtae aekmagi, or pollack talisman [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Whether or not one believes in its effectiveness, aekmagi offers psychological comfort, symbolizing the act of cutting off negative energy and marking the start of something new. For this reason, many people choose to begin the year with some form of an aekmagi ritual.

Traditional aekmagi practices include the use of red beans and talismans — eating red-bean porridge or rice cakes, or carrying charms in wallets, cars or homes.

But there is one aekmagi in particular that is drawing massive attention this year. It's the myeongtae, or dried pollack, aekmagi, which was traditionally hung with rope near doors to ward off bad luck and invite good fortune.

Today, it has taken on far more visible, playful and adorable forms, appearing as key rings, home decor, stickers and even dolls. Many are portable, meant to ward off bad luck in a lighthearted way.

According to Naver Data Lab, searches for the keyword "aekmagi" began gradually rising in 2023 and have since been reaching new highs month after month.

A good-luck charm keyring shaped like bungeoppang, or fish-shaped pastries, released by Ediya Coffee [EDIYA COFFEE]

Brands have been quick to embrace the trend, releasing increasingly playful and cuter interpretations. Ice cream brand Binggrae's Bungeoppang Samanco introduced a myeongtae aekmagi–shaped product that doubles as an air freshener that is said to bring luck. Ediya Coffee launched an aekmagi key ring shaped like bungeoppang (fish-shaped pastries), available for 5,900 won with purchases over 8,000 won. Espoir swapped the traditional fish for a horse — next year’s zodiac animal — in its take on the aemakgi, offering it as a special event item with cushion purchases.

Big myeongtae aekmagi dolls could also be found, with some claw machines even offering them as prizes.

A claw machine has good-luck charm dolls as prize[WOO JI-WON]

DIY content teaching people how to make aekmagi items is also easy to find online — from carving wooden pollack charms and tying decorative cords to knitting myeongtae aekmagi dolls. Workshops offering hands-on classes have emerged as well, and many people now exchange aekmagi items as gifts for friends and family as the year turns.

BY WOO JI-WON [[email protected]]