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“거울아∼ 거울아∼ 이 세상에서 제일 예쁜 사람은 누구지?” 거울에 어떤 마법의 힘이 깃들어 있다고 믿었던 것은 비단 백설공주의 못된 계모만은 아니었던 것 같다.
The first mirror was made of stone. It was made by grinding a side of a semi-transparent(반투명의) stone. The visibility became clearer as the material was replaced with bronze or silver. But when the mirror was first invented, many countries around the world including korea had tried to use it for a common purpose as a magical tool.
In the old days, the shamans(무당) would use mirrors to find a lost person, lost belongings or even to tell one's fortune. Also, there's a record saying that the taejo wanggun had established Korea with the courage he had received by interpreting the letters on a mirror. The Chinese used to hang a shiny mirror on the door in order to drive the ghosts away.
Also, there is a superstition that breaking a mirror brings bad luck. This superstition comes from the 6th century greeks. They believed that they were able to tell the future by looking into a glass bowl filled with water. But, if they were not able to see their reflection in the bowl, they thought that the person would die soon or have a very dark future. That is why they were careful not to stir the water in the bowl. Later on in the 15th century, a glass mirror covered with silver foil(은박) was invented in venice. But people still had to handle it very carefully because it was so expensive. From then, the superstition that broken mirrors bring bad luck was solidified.
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