I Was a Fortune-Teller

AS THE young woman sat down on the cushion I offered her, I could tell that she was not just an ordinary Korean. She was well dressed and had the bearing of a person of nobility. I listened as she told about having heard of me from far away. She said that she came to me because she really needed to know something.

I encouraged her to be comfortable, but she sat rigid in deep anticipation. “What is your name?” I began. “Oh, this is of more importance than something concerning me,” she said. “I came to find out my older brother’s fortune.” “What is his name?” I asked. When she told me, I too became more serious. He was one of the most controversial of Korea’s rising politicians. Each day his name was in the news.

I opened my Oriental philosophy books to material regarding his type of name and, after considering it, asked my usual questions: “In what year was he born?” Then, “What month, what day?” And finally, “At exactly what hour was he born?” Then my research began. Comparing data from my Oriental philosophy books concerning what happens to people with such a name and checking this against the numerology tables for his date of birth, I determined what dates and years would be good for him and which ones would be bad. I told the young woman my findings. The coming year, 1974, would be a very good year and a time of triumph for this man. He should go ahead positively in his endeavors. The young woman paid my fee and left as a happy person.

What finally happened? Her brother did succeed and, in 1974, became president of his political party, as I had predicted.

How I Got Started

My interest in fortune-telling was aroused when, as a young woman of twenty-six years, I met a woman who was a fortune-teller. Using ancient numerology, she calculated mathematically which days would be good ones and which days would be bad ones. I asked her for a book about numerology. But she tried to discourage me, saying that it was very difficult to learn. Nevertheless, I obtained the book and began studying it. As a schoolgirl, I had been a very good student and so felt that I would be able to learn numerology well.

Then, in 1966, at the age of thirty-one, I got married but kept on studying and learning about numerology. As I progressed, I began to tell fortunes on a small scale. Eventually I became well known.

A Change

I looked down upon so-called Christians and felt that they worshiped a very weak god. Why? Because, even though they attended church, they would come to me to have their fortune read. I asked them why they came to me when they were worshiping the Almighty Creator. They answered that the Bible does not tell about personal business nor about what is going to happen to individuals in certain situations. They said that they were coming to me to find out what their personal fortune would be. Also, some of these people told me that they came to find out their future in a scholarly way and did not want any contact with demons. I asked some of them if they thought that I, the fortune-teller, was stronger than their god in heaven. They never gave me a satisfactory answer. At first mostly Catholics came to me, but eventually people from other churches quietly came to have their fortune read. My experience with all these churchgoers led me to one conclusion: There is absolutely no truth and no value whatsoever in the churches.

Up until that time I did not know Jehovah’s Witnesses. But, then, a Witness moved into the house just across the street from my home. She was severely opposed and persecuted by her husband. He would beat her, lock her out of the house and cause such problems for her that the entire neighborhood knew that she was being persecuted for her faith. I felt sorry for her and went to talk to her, encouraging her to stop associating with Jehovah’s Witnesses and thus avoid trouble with her husband. I stressed to her that, if her God really had any power, he would have helped her by now.

But I was the one to be surprised. The Witness actually had an answer. She told me about God’s purpose for the earth, the “last days,” and the reason for the persecution of true believers. She said that she would not abandon her faith even in the face of death. Was I ever amazed! She told me how much she loved Jehovah God, the truth from the Bible and Jehovah’s Witnesses, her spiritual brothers and sisters. I was stunned by the depth of her faith.

Of course, I could not fully understand all these things at that time. But it impressed me immensely and I did learn one important thing: Jehovah’s Witnesses are different from any other religion. Furthermore, among all the many people who had come to me for my service as a fortune-teller, not one of Jehovah’s Witnesses had ever come to me. This got me to thinking. Why were Jehovah’s Witnesses not worried about the future? Did they know something that I did not know?

It was just after this that I came to meet the Witnesses in a different way. My older sister went to a friend’s house and found that her friend was studying with them. She saw how much her friend was learning from the Witnesses about the Bible and was very impressed with their conduct. She took the Bible aid The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life and brought it home with her to give to me. She described some of the interesting things that she learned at her friend’s house and commended the Witnesses so much that I, too, wanted to find out more. Especially did I want to know why Jehovah’s Witnesses never came to me to have their fortune read. I began reading the Truth book and was shocked to learn that Deuteronomy chapter 18 states that all fortune-telling is associated with the demons and is wrong. This made me extremely angry and I hated this publication. I wanted to throw it away. I wanted to burn it. But somehow I could not bring myself to do this. I kept thinking about the hope that the book presented and I could not put it down. The more I read, the more I was moved by the book’s logic and good contents.

Then the Witness who was conducting the Bible study with my older sister’s friend called on my older sister, who had accepted the Truth book. She told the Witness that I had the book now and was more interested than she was. So the Witness called on me. This gave me the first real opportunity to ask my one really big question: “Why don’t any of Jehovah’s Witnesses come to me to have their fortune read? Don’t you worry about the future?” Kindly the Witness explained the reasons from the Bible. Upon hearing her explanation and remembering bits of what I had learned from reading the Truth book, I was satisfied. I had the basis for a simple understanding of the Bible and was now ready to study it seriously. That was in July of 1974.

Starting with my second Bible study with Jehovah’s Witnesses, I felt the need to attend their meetings at the Kingdom Hall here in Masan City. Three weeks after I started to study there was a district assembly of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Taegu City, three hours away by train. At the assembly I saw many eye-opening things. Thousands of Witnesses were in attendance, but there was very good order. No one was worried about anyone’s stealing from anyone else. Even the missionaries from America stood in line for meals in the hot sun and then ate noodles and rice with the rest of us. All seemed to be one big family. I was deeply moved by all of this and felt that, for the first time, I was seeing real faith being practiced.

Just as soon as I got back from the district assembly, I burned all my numerology books and all related items, and closed my door as a fortune-teller, refusing to accept any more clients. I prayed to Jehovah that he help me and promised to devote myself to his work. I continued to study and, then, after overcoming many obstacles, was baptized as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

One of the obstacles was the many customers who kept coming to me to have their fortune read. They tried everything to get me to read their future. They told me that I was crazy and they tried to belittle me. But I used this opportunity to preach to them. They would come to have their fortune read, and they would leave with more knowledge about God and his purposes. Preaching to them had another benefit also. They either stayed longer and showed interest in the Bible or else they got angry and left. Among those who manifested interest were fifteen who began to study the Bible and a number of these are continuing to make progress.

There are many things that caused me to wake up to the truth of God’s Word and associate with his people. One of them was the death of the first lady of Korea, the president’s wife. She was assassinated. If fortune-telling is a thing of benefit to humans, why did not a fortune-teller help her with superhuman knowledge? This case, and many others, showed me that fortune-telling is not a force for good and peace. Even if it appears accurate in some instances, fortune-telling, in the final analysis, is a means used by the demons to deceive humans. It cannot solve humanity’s problems; neither can it solve personal problems. That is why I will never rely on fortune-telling again and will encourage other people to avoid it also. I will rely upon Jehovah God who knows all things and who can solve all problems for the good of humans everlastingly.

Many people used to depend upon my fortune-telling ability to run their businesses as well as their personal lives. But now they come to me with another question: “Why are you working harder now as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses for no money than you worked previously as a fortune-teller for much money?” Some even ask, “What is your purpose?” And others, “What is better than money?” I answer them from the Bible. I tell them that I have found something of lasting value​—knowledge about God and his purposes. I am confidently looking forward to the blessings Jehovah has prepared for mankind in the near future, the sure future.​—Contributed.