Not in Red: Why Koreans Never Write a Living Person's Name in Red
Red pens are fine for grading homework. Red names are another story. Here's where the taboo comes from, and what to use instead.
Picture yourself signing a birthday card in a Korean office. The only pen within reach is red, you start writing your colleague's name, and someone quickly slides a black pen your way. Nobody is angry. You have simply bumped into one of the best-known taboos in Korea: you do not write a living person's name in red ink.
The short answer is that red has long been tied to the names of the dead. Traditionally, a name written in red could be read as a sign that the person had died, so writing a living person's name that way came to feel like wishing them harm. Folk belief goes further and says it can actually bring death. Whether or not people believe that part, the discomfort is real enough that most simply reach for another color.
Red, names and the dead
The explanation you will hear most often is about records. In a 2024 explainer, the Korea Herald noted that many Koreans feel uneasy seeing their names in red because, in the past, the color was used for the names of the deceased in family registers. The webzine of the National Folk Museum of Korea likewise points out that red is often used to write the names of the dead, as well as to correct mistakes.
Funeral tradition also keeps red and names side by side. The 명정 (myeongjeong) is a long banner bearing the deceased's official rank and surname; it leads the procession ahead of the coffin and is laid over it at burial. According to the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, it is traditionally made of red cloth, with the characters written in white powder or silver. It is easy to see how a name on red, or in red, came to feel like something that belongs to those who have passed away.
The legends behind the taboo
Because nobody can point to a clear starting date, Korea has gathered several origin stories. The most popular stars Qin Shi Huang, China's first emperor. As the tale goes, he wanted red all to himself, so writing a name in red was forbidden on pain of death, and the idea later reached Korea through its close ties with China. Both the National Folk Museum's webzine and the Korea Herald retell it, and it is best enjoyed as a legend rather than settled history.
The museum's webzine even passes along a far stranger tale about a queen of ancient Egypt who flew into a rage after being painted in red, as if she were covered in blood. That a national museum offers two such different stories says a lot: the true origin is uncertain, and the belief has outlived any single explanation. The webzine's own conclusion is a gentle one. Whatever the reason, it suggests, people avoided red names out of a wish for their own safety and for the well-being of those around them.
Everyday language adds to the mood. In casual Korean, people talk about a 빨간 줄 (ppalgan jul, "red line") on someone's record to mean a criminal record. It is a different idea, but it shows how red marks on official papers rarely mean good news.
Red itself is not unlucky
None of this makes red an unlucky color in Korea. In tradition, it is a powerful one. Folk talismans called 부적 (bujeok) are drawn in red cinnabar on yellow paper, and the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture explains that red corresponds to blood and fire, stands for life, and, through fire's purifying power, was thought to drive away evil spirits.
Red is part of ordinary paperwork, too. Korean name seals, 도장 (dojang), are stamped with red seal paste called 인주 (inju), and no one gives it a second thought: a seal confirms a name rather than crossing it out. Teachers grade in red, editors correct in red, and red underlining is everywhere. The taboo is narrow. It is about writing a name, especially a living person's name, in red.
How strongly do Koreans feel about it today?
Whether or not people believe the folk explanation, the custom is so widely known that breaking it sends a message. Korea JoongAng Daily, in a 2022 look at Korean superstitions, called writing someone's name in red extremely rude, and the Korea Herald observed in 2024 that many Koreans still feel uneasy about it. In practice, people quietly keep red off name tags, attendance sheets, place cards and greeting cards.
It is learned early, too. The National Folk Museum's webzine opens with its writer's childhood memory of desk mates threatening to write each other's names in red and protesting loudly, without ever knowing why it was supposed to be so bad. That mix of half-belief and playground drama sums up the taboo today: many would not call it a real fear, yet almost nobody does it on purpose. Similar ideas about red-written names exist elsewhere in East Asia as well, so Korea is not alone.
If you visit Korea
- Write names in black or blue. Birthday cards, guestbooks, name tags, sign-up sheets and seating charts all call for a dark, neutral color.
- Red is fine for everything else. Corrections, underlining, doodles and notes in red are perfectly normal, as long as no one's name is in them.
- Your own name counts, too. Many Koreans avoid writing even their own name in red, so don't sign in it.
- Teaching Korean students? Grade in red if you like, but write their names in another color.
- If you slip, apologize lightly. Visitors are usually given plenty of grace; a quick sorry and a fresh card tend to settle it.
- Never do it as a joke. Writing someone's name in red on purpose can come across as hostile, even among friends.
Quick answers
Why can't you write a name in red ink in Korea?
Red has long been associated with the names of the dead, for example in old records, so a living person's name in red can look like a wish for their death. Folk belief even says it can bring bad luck or death.
Is it okay to use a red pen in Korea at all?
Yes. Red ink is fine for corrections, grading, notes and highlighting, and red seal paste for name stamps is completely normal. Only writing names in red is avoided.
What color should I use to write someone's name?
Black or blue is the safe choice for cards, forms and name tags.
Sources
- National Folk Museum of Korea webzine — 빨간색으로 이름을 쓰면 죽는다고? (2016)
- The Korea Herald — [Korea Quiz] Korean superstitions (2024)
- Korea JoongAng Daily — [WHY] Beware fan death and evil mice doppelgangers (2022)
- Encyclopedia of Korean Culture — 명정 (銘旌, funeral banner)
- Encyclopedia of Korean Culture — 부적 (符籍, talisman)
