I Got a Saju Reading So You Don't Have To

Aside from a few tarot readings from friends and reviewing each others’ astrological birth charts, I’ve had little to no professional experience with “fortune telling.”

I’d only heard of Saju once I first landed in Korea and my friend told me she wanted her fortune read. I thought, ah okay, so like a street psychic. We have those in New York too! $10 for the first session. But I never pursued it myself—the risk of getting a vague, generic reading with no real roots in anything meaningful didn’t appeal to me.

That was until I came across an insightful TikTok about a Korean-American and her mom, who regularly get their Saju read. The blogger explained that ChatGPT can now do basic Saju readings since Saju is based on calculations—and ChatGPT, being a computer, can easily interpret the ancient numerology and systems behind it. And apparently, Koreans have been taking full advantage of that!

So I decided—if it’s good enough for locals here in Korea to be told how their next year might unfold, why not give it a try? I grabbed a couple of friends and we headed off to Hongdae, about 20 minutes from Yonsei's campus by foot or 15 minutes by subway.

There’s one street in Hongdae where every other door has a sign in Korean reading “SAJU” or “TAROT.” I wandered into about five of them, half asking for prices, half just feeling out the vibe. I needed to know this was the right place to meet my fate. They were all similarly priced—₩30,000. Eventually, I chose one Saju reader who had just finished up with another client. Her quiet, satisfied exit felt like a solid referral. And since I looked in just as she stepped out, I took that perfect timing as A Sign.

So here’s what went down:

First, he asked for my birth year, month, day, and time. Using these numbers, he pulled out a tiny, thick book filled with charts—dense pages of numbers and Chinese characters.

Now, a quick explanation: “Saju” (사주), which means “four pillars,” is a traditional Korean fortune-telling method that uses your birth year, month, day, and hour to create a kind of astrological profile. Each of these “pillars” consists of two characters from ancient Chinese metaphysics, based on the zodiac and Five Elements (wood, fire, earth, metal, water). It’s kind of like a Korean version of a birth chart, and it can reveal insights about your **personality, life path, and even key moments in your future**. People in Korea use it to make decisions about everything from love and career to health and timing major life changes.

Back to my reading—based on my numbers alone, he told me what kind of career I’d thrive in, how successful I’d be, and when I’d start seeing that success. He gave me specific ages when I’d meet “the one” and even how my summer would play out.

Then he moved on to read my palm—checking my lifeline, love line, and what he called my IQ line (still not sure what that one really means, but I’ll take it).

I won’t go into all the details, but it was an incredibly in-depth reading for the price.

Huge shoutout to my friend for translating the entire session! Although many of the Saju places I passed offered English services this particular Saju reader did not, so I would’ve been totally lost without her!

Final thoughts?

Whether or not you believe in fate, there’s something kind of thrilling about having someone map out your life like watching a trailer for a new exciting movie, pulling destinites from a little book of ancient numbers. And in a place like Seoul, where tradition and tech blend so seamlessly, Saju feels like the perfect mix of both.

Would I do it again? Maybe. Even just for the story.