What does your dream mean in Korea?
Korean families have read dreams for centuries. Pig dreams mean money, a tiger can announce a baby, and a lucky dream can even be sold. Look up yours.
The dreams Koreans talk about most
Good omen · 길몽Pig돼지꿈
In Korea a pig dream is the classic money dream. Plenty of people who have one stop at a lottery shop that day, and some keep the dream to themselves until the luck arrives.
Depends · 반반Snake뱀꿈
A snake dream can be lucky or unsettling in Korean dream folklore. A great snake entering your house is traditionally fortunate, but the snake's behavior changes the reading.
Depends · 반반Dog & puppy개꿈·강아지꿈
In Korean dream reading a dog stands for a person: a friend, a helper or someone who works under you. A dog that greets you is a good sign, while a dog that barks, chases or bites you warns of friction with someone close.
Depends · 반반Cat & kitten고양이꿈
Korean dream books treat cats with some suspicion: a scratch, a bite or a black cat is read as gossip or a person to watch. A cat or kitten leaping into your arms is the happy exception, read as affection luck or a taemong for a bright child.
Good omen · 길몽Dragon용꿈
In Korean folklore the dragon dream is the king of lucky dreams, read as success, rising status and, for families expecting, a child who will do great things. Only a falling, dying or wounded dragon pulls the reading down.
Good omen · 길몽Tiger호랑이꿈
In Korean folklore a tiger dream usually means power, rising status or a powerful helper, and it's one of the classic taemong. The main exceptions are being chased or attacked, which are read as pressure from someone stronger.
Depends · 반반Spider & web거미꿈
In Korean dream reading a spider usually gathers things toward you: people, news and money. The web is the catch, because getting stuck in one is read as being tied up in a situation you can't easily leave.
Depends · 반반Mouse & rat쥐꿈
A mouse or rat dream in Korea is usually a warning about small losses, since rats eat the family's grain. Catching one, seeing a white one or watching one carry food home flips it toward luck.
Lucky dream or warning? A quick check
Korean dream books sort dreams into 길몽 (lucky dreams), 흉몽 (warning dreams) and the many that depend on what happened.
Find your dream by type
Pregnancy dreams, the Korean way
A taemong is the dream that announces a child. Many Korean parents, and often grandparents, still tell children what their taemong was.
- A dragon rising from watera child with great fortune
- A big carp in your armsa healthy, lucky child
- Picking ripe peachesa classic fruit taemong
- A tiger walking ina strong, bold child
Animals that show up in taemong
How Korean dream reading works
A pig (豚, read "don") sounds like money (돈). Many readings start with a sound or a character, not the animal itself.
Koreans often say 꿈은 반대, "dreams are the opposite". That is why dying, poop or a burning house can be lucky.
A snake entering your house and a snake chasing you are two different dreams. What happened matters more than what you saw.
The same tiger reads as a taemong for an expecting family and as a powerful helper for someone at work.
Yes, you can buy someone's dream
A lucky dream is thought to carry its luck to whoever owns it, so the dreamer can pass it on for a small payment.
Munhui bought her sister's dream with a silk skirt and later married Kim Chun-chu, who became King Muyeol of Silla.
A few coins change hands and the buyer says "I'll buy your dream." Read about the customs
Read more about Korean dream lore
In Korea a lucky dream can be bought and sold. The Samguk Yusa story of Munhui's silk skirt, old dream-sale contracts, and how people trade dreams today.
Dream Meanings When You're Pregnant: A Korean GuidePregnant and dreaming vividly? How Korean dream lore reads the same dream differently in pregnancy, what anxious dreams are common, and how to hold them gently.
Had a Good Dream? What Koreans Do Next (Lottery, Secrecy, Selling)Dreamed of a pig, a dragon or a heap of poop? What Koreans traditionally do next: buy a lottery ticket, keep quiet about it, or sell the dream to someone else.
Scary Dreams That Are Actually Good Omens in KoreaDreamed you died, your house burned, or a snake bit you? In Korean dream lore many of the scariest dreams are read as good omens. Here's why, and which ones.
Taemong animals: the full list and what each one is said to meanEvery taemong animal on this site, grouped by land, sky, water, dragons and insects, with how Korean dream books read each pregnancy dream and what to doubt.
The 12 zodiac animals in Korean dreams, from rat to pigHow Korean dream lore reads each of the 12 띠 zodiac animals, from the lucky pig and dragon to the wary rat, and whether dreaming of your own sign matters.
Every dream on this site
Questions people ask about Korean dreams
What is 꿈해몽 (kkumhaemong)?
It is the Korean word for dream interpretation. It covers a large body of folk readings that families, dream books and websites pass on: which dreams are lucky (길몽, gilmong), which are warnings (흉몽, hyungmong), and which announce a baby (태몽, taemong).
Why is a pig dream lucky in Korea?
Partly wordplay. The Chinese character for pig, 豚, is read "don" in Korean, which sounds like 돈, money. Pigs also stood for plenty in farming households, so a pig dream became the classic money dream.
Is it true that dreams mean the opposite in Korea?
Many Koreans say 꿈은 반대 ("dreams are the opposite"), which is why dying or a burning house can be read as good news. It is a common saying, not a rule: many readings are direct, so check the specific dream.
What is a taemong?
A dream understood to announce a pregnancy or a child, dreamed by the mother or by someone close to her. Families often keep the story and tell it to the child later.
Can you really buy a dream?
Yes, as a custom. If someone has a lucky dream, you can offer a little money and say you are buying it, so the luck passes to you. The best-known story comes from the Samguk Yusa.
Do dreams predict the future?
No. This site explains what Korean tradition says about dreams, for culture and fun. It is not a forecast, and nothing here is medical, financial or religious advice.