As summer has ended, I thought it would be quite hilarious to debunk the extremely idiosyncratic Korean myth called the “Fan Death”.

There runs a quite popular myth among Korean people that running an electric fan on in a confined room with closed windows/sleeping with a fan too close to your face will kill you.

Although there is not an affirmed source of origin of this fan myth, it was rumored a few decades back when a man had allegedly died from a fan. Others suspect it was an attempt of the Korean government to spread false news to reduce energy usage during the Electricity Crisis in Korea during the 1970s.

Even though many Koreans doubt the possibility of fan death ever happening, numerous Koreans still slightly open their doors or windows just because of an uneasy feeling that the myth may be somewhat true. Additionally, the reasons as to why so many people still open their doors while sleeping with the fan on may be also due to the nocebo effect, where a negative outcome results from a belief that the intervention will cause harm. Because people may believe in all the possible negative outcomes from the myth and the alleged rumors of past victims from fan death, they will try to evade fan death by opening their doors.

The main reasons behind this myth are as follows:

1. Sleeping with the fan on in a confined room will drop body temperature, and thus eventually result in death.
2. Sleeping with the fan on in a confined room will cause asphyxiation (= breathing condition) and thus result in death.
3. Because the fan depletes oxygen, there will be no oxygen to breathe, and thus result in death.

However, this Fan Death myth already has been debunked by Professor Seo He-Sun from the Department of Family Medicine, Gachon University Gil Hospital, who stated that the likelihood of death from sleeping with the fan on in an enclosed room was extremely unlikely.

Now, let’s debunk each reason slowly.

1. Sleeping with the fan on in a confined room will drop body temperature, and thus eventually result in death.

As body temperature regulation is managed by the body’s core, it is extremely unlikely that the fan, which only blows air to the face, will lower body temperature significantly. Even if the fan does drop body temperature, it won’t be able to lower body temperature severely to the point of death. To be diagnosed as a significant risk to health, the drop in body temperature must drop by at least 8˚C from the normal body temperature of 36˚C.

Moreover, Professor Im Jun-Taek of KAIST University also conducted a self-experiment where he measured changes in his heart beat, blood pressure and body temperature as he sat in a enclosed room with a fan on right in front of him. When he measured his body recordings later, there were barely any changes in the factors, which disputes the assumption that sleeping with the fan on in a confined room would drop body temperature significantly.

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2. Sleeping with the fan on in a confined room will cause asphyxiation and thus result in death.

There are additional alleged rumors that because the fan blows air to the face, the face will be only exposed to “low” air pressure and thus cause breathing problems. However, in a 2013 broadcasted experiment, the researchers recorded how air pressure changes could affect the face by turning a fan on in front of the test subjects’ faces; however, there were no effects from the change in air pressure from the fan.

Although sleeping with the fan on may not cause asphyxiation, it may have negative effects on the body as long exposure to a constantly active fan may dry out important facial organs, such as the eyes, nose, and mouth. BECAUSE of these dehydrated organs, there could be a possibility of getting a cold or xerophthalmia (= dry eyes). Therefore, it is best recommended to have your fan on rotating mode rather than a stationary, one-direction fan.

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3. Because the fan depletes oxygen, there will be no oxygen to breathe, and thus result in death.

Even though oxygen depletion could be possible if one were to sleep in a confined room, just by closing the windows and doors will not completely block out oxygen from the outside. Furthermore, as fan can only transfer the air to flow towards the intended direction, it is impossible for the fan to affect oxygen levels.

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However, there may be health-imposing risks from electric fans due to a defect in the fan, such as possible risks of fire. A few years back, there was a death incident from Gimje-Si due to a fire from overheating of a fan. As the fan had been on for such a prolonged time, dust had piled on top of the hot fan motor, which then caught on fire. Therefore, it is best recommended by experts to regularly wipe the top lid of the motor to remove any dust from piling on top.

Moreover, as aforementioned, because when positioned close to the face, the fan may dehydrate important facial organs. Because bodily fluids like sweat or tears may not be secreted and dried out naturally, facial bloating may happen. Therefore, it is important to direct your fan to the ceiling when sleeping rather than directly towards the face.

Interestingly, there is a benefit to turning the fan on in an enclosed room! If you are also a poor victim of mosquitoes during the summer, this may apply to you. According to the American Mosquito Control Association, mosquitoes can only travel at a speed of 1.6km ~ 2.4km; therefore, they recommended turning the fan on to help chase away mosquitoes.

Additionally, by directing the fan towards the ceiling, one can lower the entire temperature of the room a bit as the hotter air will travel towards the upper region of the room and the colder air sinking to the bottom of the room.

Okay, now a short summary of what we’ve just encountered:

1. No, the fan myth is completely false, although a few side effects MAY be possible under the condition of one not being cautious.
2. 2 tips of advice:
   1. Regularly wipe the top lid of the fan motor to prevent the fan lighting on fire.
   2. Direct the fan towards the ceiling to prevent bloating.
3. 2 Fan benefits
   1. Turning the fan on in an enclosed room can chase mosquitoes out.
   2. Directing the fan towards the ceiling can prevent bloating AND help with air circulation, and therefore lower the temperature of the room.

– Joanna Kim, October 16th, 2021, 10:45PM KST –