Welcome to the hotel cosmic fortune: Feng shui draws luck-seekers to five-star venues

Many people in Korea often turn to saju, or fortunetelling, for answers — and luck. Now, for some, that search has led to a seat in a hotel lounge, so long as the energy syncs with theirs.

Instagram reels featuring users visiting the Grand Hyatt Seoul, a place believed to bring luck [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Many people in Korea often turn to saju, or fortunetelling, for answers — and luck. Now, for some, that search has led to a seat in a hotel lounge, preferably with a cup of coffee.

A fortune seeker named Lim Seo-hyeon recently visited the five-star Grand Hyatt Seoul hotel in Yongsan District, central Seoul, for that very reason.

"I sat in a lounge with an open view and even stroked a turtle stone statue," Lim, who made the hike up the side of Mount Namsan to the hotel on March 23, told the Korea JoongAng Daily.

She said she went after hearing that the Grand Hyatt is considered a myeongdang, or a lucky spot believed to hold good giun, or energy, and that visiting the place could bring life-changing opportunities, particularly job-related fortunes.

Lim is not alone. Another visitor, a freelancer who asked to remain anonymous, said they made a similar trip.

"I visited the place on March 14," the freelancer said. "I had a cup of coffee there with my sister. I couldn't touch the stone, though, because the area was under construction."

Instagram reels featuring users, uploaded by Ha Ji-seon, visiting the Grand Hyatt Seoul, a place believed to bring luck [SCREEN CAPTURE]

The idea gained momentum as reels and posts circulated online, with users claiming to find good fortune after visiting the Grand Hyatt. One such viral reel by a licensed realtor named Ha Ji-seon racked up more than 20,100 likes and 3.1 million views as of Tuesday. In the clip, she said her recent visit to the hotel, prompted by rumors of its luck-inducing energy, led to four jobs.

"I visited the Hyatt on March 7 and March 8," Ha told Korea JoongAng Daily. "Since my visit, I have experienced positive changes that are hard to believe."

Those changes included tangible business results: brand collaborations now under contract discussions, progress on a sauna brand launch project she is working on and new proposals as an influencer.

The video drew more than 2,430 comments, with some users asking for the exact location of the lucky spots, while others shared similar experiences after visiting hotels known for their good energy. A top comment said she married a man she had met at The Westin Josun Seoul hotel in Jung District, central Seoul, another hotel often said to be considered a myeongdang hotel.

Lim, too, reported positive changes — coincidental or not.

"Just a day after my visit, I received a small casting opportunity related to my aspiring career, along with a direct message inquiring about a video advertisement," Lim said.

Luck, redesigned

The trend reflects a subtle shift in how younger generations engage with belief and luck.

Instead of hoping to find luck at any old fortuneteller, some are proactively chasing it down with visits to spaces believed to enhance their fortunes — a practice tied to feng shui, the traditional Chinese concept that interprets how environments influence energy, well-being and luck.

The growing interest has not gone unnoticed by the hotels.

A Grand Hyatt representative said the hotel has noticed more visitors coming in, drawn by such beliefs.

Grand Hyatt Seoul's lounge [GRAND HYATT SEOUL]

"We have noticed that many guests visit the hotel believing in its feng shui and the luck associated with it," the source said, adding that the site was actually chosen with those energies in mind.

"Our site was originally selected as a geographically favorable location based on feng shui."

The trend has since expanded far beyond a single hotel. Lists now circulate online, sharing myeongdang hotels across Seoul — each assigned one of the five feng shui elements: wood, fire, earth, metal or water.

According to one widely shared breakdown, Lotte Hotel Seoul and The Shilla Seoul fall under wood; the Four Seasons Hotel Seoul and Park Hyatt Seoul under metal; the Conrad Seoul and Lotte Hotel World under water; and Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas and The Westin Josun Seoul under earth.

When energies clash

These ideas are also often tied to saju, a traditional Korean system of birth chart analysis, which holds that individuals carry their own elemental energies based on their birth date.

The logic is simple. Go where your missing element is.

The Grand Hyatt Seoul, for instance, is often believed to carry strong fire energy, as it sits near Mount Namsan — sometimes superstitiously believed to have volcanic energy.

Grand Hyatt Seoul [GRAND HYATT SEOUL]

This has led to warnings circulating online that those with strong "fire energy" should avoid the hotel, as it may throw their balance off.

Ha said that she saw that firsthand.

"A friend who visited the Grand Hyatt with me has strong fire energy and ended up going through some negative experiences afterward," she said. "In the end, the key is finding a place that matches your own saju and elemental balance."

The hotel itself attempts to balance that energy.

According to viral content, paintings of waterfalls hanging across from mirrors in the Grand Hyatt Seoul lounge are meant to counterbalance fire energy. A hotel spokesperson confirmed that the artwork, in fact, was installed following a minor fire incident in the laundry room in the 1990s as part of shamanistic efforts to prevent possible instances in the future.

Waterfall paintings displayed at Grand Hyatt Seoul's lounge [GRAND HYATT SEOUL]

Additional water features installed throughout the hotel — including fountains in the Grand Ballroom and flowing water installations throughout the property — further reinforce this effort.

The theory behind 'lucky' hotels

The idea itself isn't new, according to feng shui expert Kim Doo-kyu, who has written several books on feng shui.

"There are hotels built on good sites. And for these places, businesspeople have long chosen them for meetings or to host important guests," Kim said.

The Millennium Hilton Seoul in Jung District, central Seoul, closed on Dec. 31, 2022 after 40 years of operation. [NEWS1]

The Grand Hyatt has often been viewed favorably for its position along the central ridge of Mount Namsan and its sweeping view of the Han River. In contrast, he said, the former Hilton hotel located near Seoul Station was once avoided by some who believed the site had unfavorable energy.

As for how such spaces are categorized, Kim explained that feng shui classifies environments through five elements based on factors such as direction, shape and color.

Five Elements Philosophy chart with fire, earth, metal, water and wood [GETTY IMAGES KOREA]

By direction, areas west of Jongno District, the historic city center, would be associated with metal, the north with water, the center with earth, the southern Gangnam District with fire and Seongdong District just north of the river with wood. Another interpretation relies on visual cues — red for fire, yellow for earth, white for metal and black for water — as well as shapes.

But in practice, applying these principles to modern hotels is far from straightforward, Kim said.

"Most buildings today have similar forms and colors, so it has become quite meaningless to base classifications on them."

Mount Namsan [NEWS1]

He added that, depending on how one views it, interpretations can change. For example, while many believe Mount Namsan has strong fire energy because it lies south of Jongno, the same mountain could be interpreted as having water energy when viewed from across the Han River — underscoring that such readings vary by perspective and are not absolute.

"These interpretations are flexible," Kim said, adding that they often come down to how people feel.

"Ultimately, it's about your state of mind," he said.

BY WOO JI-WON [woo.jiwon@joongang.co.kr]