Fan Death

There are usually some random superstitions you hear about when you are travelling, but I think this one tops the list. A huge urban legend here is “Fan Death”. There is a lot of people who commit suicide here or are alcoholics, so some people things this was made up to hide those deaths. People actually think this is true here, and get really concerned if you leave a fan running or joke about it. Most intelligent Koreans know that it’s not true and just a myth and laugh about it.

Here’s what Wikipedia says:

Fan Death:

Fan death is a South Korean urban legend which states that an electric fan, if left
running overnight in a closed room, can cause the death of those inside (by suffocation, poisoning, or hypothermia). Fans manufactured and sold in Korea are equipped with a timer switch that turns them off after a set number of minutes, which users are frequently urged to set when going to sleep with a fan on.

Beliefs:

That an electric fan creates a vortex, which sucks the oxygen from the enclosed and sealed room and creates a partial vacuum inside.

That an electric fan chops up all the oxygen particles in the air leaving none to breathe.

The fan uses up the oxygen in the room and creates fatal levels of carbon dioxide.