Korean Celebrities and Saju: G-Dragon, Brian and More

In Korea, saju is everyday conversation for celebrities too. It is a job full of unknowns, from debuts and hiatuses to casting and contracts, so “I had my saju read and…” comes up naturally on TV. Given that four in ten Koreans have paid for a fortune or saju reading (Gallup Korea, 2026), there is no reason stars would be any different.

Did G-Dragon really get his saju read?

Yes, and live on air. On September 7, 2016, G-Dragon invited fortune-teller Park Sung-jun onto his own Naver V Live broadcast, “G-Dragon On Air,” whose Korean title ended with a play on the “8 characters” (八字) of a saju chart.

According to TV Daily, the reader used G-Dragon’s lunar birthday (the 7th day of the 7th month) to describe a chart with natural flair, “like a highway where water keeps flowing to a thirsty tree,” a creator born with good fortune. He added that G-Dragon had a hunger for recognition that could lead him into business or teaching. As the good news kept coming, G-Dragon laughed: “My mom’s going to love this.”

On marriage, the reader said G-Dragon’s chart held “a wife who is like a child to him, cute and lovable” and that he was “a devoted husband by nature.” G-Dragon shot back: “I am good to women.” (Soompi’s English report covers the same exchange.)

Which Korean celebrity takes saju most seriously?

The star who has said it most plainly on TV is Brian of Fly to the Sky. As the first guest on JTBC’s Tkkeulmoa Solution in December 2025, he explained how he became a saju maniac.

• How it started: every time he had his saju read, predictions about things like moving house or accidents turned out right, and he gradually got hooked.
• What he does: fortune-teller Park Sung-jun told him pink and red tones suit him, so he dresses that way, and he came to the recording in pink.
• Love life: because reading after reading mentioned "a risk of divorce" in his chart, he said he rarely feels like dating.

The show’s format is the interesting part. Scientists on the panel demanded evidence, and the fortune-teller countered with “probabilities.” It put Korea’s two attitudes to saju, sincere follower and outright skeptic, side by side in one studio. In the end the panel unanimously told Brian: stop worrying and go date.

Why do Korean variety shows read fortunes every New Year?

Because New Year fortune specials are an annual ritual. One name keeps coming up: fortune-teller Park Sung-jun, who became widely known through MBC’s Infinite Challenge face-reading special in 2013 and has read stars’ saju, faces and feng shui on variety shows for more than a decade since. He appears in both the G-Dragon and Brian stories above.

📺 Celebrity saju, compatibility and face readings on Korean TV (based on published reports)

Watch Korean TV in January and you will run into scenes like these almost every year. Because the saju year turns at Ipchun (February 4 in 2027), they show up in Seollal holiday specials too. Part 1 covers New Year fortune culture in more detail.

Do actors check compatibility with their co-stars?

Some do. Gunghap is not only for couples.

Have Korean stars changed their names for luck?

Stories of stars whose careers took off after a name change are common in Korean entertainment. Korean naming offices believe the Chinese characters in a name can supply elements a person’s saju lacks, so changing your name can feel like adjusting your saju.

• Kim Bo-sung: said things went well after his name change, starting with the film Two Cops 2, and that his temper genuinely softened (Xports News).
• Yeon Woo-jin: born Kim Bong-hoe, he debuted under the stage name Seo Ji-hu before switching to his current name, and is often cited as a textbook name-change success.

Of course, a name change coinciding with success does not prove the name caused it. What is clear is that many Koreans see a name as a vessel for luck.

Why do fans watch celebrity saju videos?

YouTube is full of videos reading saju or spirit fortunes from celebrities’ names. Newsis (2024) reported that whenever entertainment news breaks, plenty of people go looking for that star’s saju videos, and TV personality Jang Young-ran said that when she searched her own name on YouTube, she found lots of “Jang Young-ran saju” videos.

If you are now more curious about your own saju than your favorite star’s, all you need is your birth date and time. Part 2 shows how to read the eight characters yourself, and part 3 introduces an app that explains Korean saju in several languages. For an in-person reading in Seoul, see our guide to saju and tarot in Korea.