Korean Zodiac Compatibility Chart: Three Harmonies, Six Harmonies, Wonjin and Clashes

Korean Zodiac Compatibility Chart: Three Harmonies, Six Harmonies, Wonjin and Clashes

Korean zodiac compatibility is an old folk custom that sorts the twelve birth-year animals into pairings called harmonies and pairings called poor matches. The groups listed in the encyclopedias are the three harmonies (samhap) and six harmonies (yukhap), which folk tradition calls good pairings, and wonjin (a pairing traditionally said to bring friction) and the six clashes (yukchung), which it calls poor matches. Below is the full chart, along with a little context: these lists are folklore, not a guide for choosing a partner, and a full saju (Korean four-pillar astrology) match looks at much more than two animals.

This guide describes an old custom for curiosity and reflection. People of every animal sign marry, work and share their lives, and these lists describe a tradition, not anyone's future. Zodiac compatibility has a long history in folk practice, and this article follows Korean sources without claiming the custom began in Korea.

What gunghap means

In Korean, the custom of comparing two people is called gunghap. The Encyclopedia of Korean Folk Culture defines it as a way of measuring a couple against set rules using either their birth-year animal or their full saju (the four pillars of year, month, day and hour of birth). The same entry says that several families of methods have been passed down and are still widely used today, among them the sinsal method (based on special "star" signs) and the saju method.

The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture adds a useful split. It describes an "outer" gunghap (geotgunghap), based on the twelve earthly branches, and an "inner" gunghap (sokgunghap), based on the five elements. The twelve animals line up with the twelve earthly branches in the folk encyclopedia's lists below.

There is also a folktale in the folk encyclopedia. A poor peddler with no children gets a pair of strange glasses. Through them, he sees his wife as a Dog and himself as a Rooster. The couple then lived with their partnerships swapped with another couple, and both couples had sons and grew wealthy. The encyclopedia says this story, passed down among ordinary people, shows what gunghap meant. It is a story, of course, and it reads best as one.

Pairs called harmonies in folk tradition

According to the folk encyclopedia, some animals were thought to get along well when they meet. These are the six harmonies and the three harmonies.

The six harmonies (yukhap) are six pairs, described as good combinations:

  • Rat and Ox
  • Tiger and Pig
  • Rabbit and Dog
  • Dragon and Rooster
  • Snake and Monkey
  • Horse and Goat

The three harmonies (samhap) are four groups of three animals, also described as good matches with one another:

  • Monkey, Rat and Dragon
  • Pig, Rabbit and Goat
  • Tiger, Horse and Dog
  • Snake, Rooster and Ox

Pairs called poor matches in folk tradition

The folk encyclopedia calls wonjin the most typical of the sinsal (special-star) gunghap methods. It quotes Yi Neung-hwa, who wrote in Joseon Yeosokgo that Korean wedding customs avoided wonjin. In folk belief, a wonjin couple was expected to have a hard time together, and the encyclopedia notes that avoiding these pairs is still a common folk custom. Here are the pairs it lists:

  • Rat and Goat
  • Ox and Horse
  • Tiger and Rooster
  • Rabbit and Monkey
  • Dragon and Pig
  • Snake and Dog

The encyclopedia then lists the six clashes (yukchung), which, like wonjin, were described as a poor match when the two animals meet:

  • Tiger and Monkey
  • Snake and Pig
  • Rat and Horse
  • Rabbit and Rooster
  • Dragon and Dog
  • Ox and Goat

The same entry also mentions honsamjae, a further set of animal pairings that folk belief treats as a bad omen for a marriage. For example, it says people born in Tiger, Horse or Dog years were thought to meet honsamjae with Rat, Ox or Tiger. We mention it so the list is complete, but it is one more piece of old folklore, not something to plan around.

Quick chart: every animal at a glance

This table rearranges the traditional lists above. The first two columns are the pairings folk tradition calls harmonies (three harmonies, six harmonies); the last two are the pairings it calls poor matches (wonjin, six clashes). These names come from the folk sources, not from our judgment. This is folk tradition, not a prediction about any real relationship.

AnimalThree harmoniesSix harmoniesWonjinSix clashes
RatMonkey, DragonOxGoatHorse
OxSnake, RoosterRatHorseGoat
TigerHorse, DogPigRoosterMonkey
RabbitPig, GoatDogMonkeyRooster
DragonMonkey, RatRoosterPigDog
SnakeRooster, OxMonkeyDogPig
HorseTiger, DogGoatOxRat
GoatPig, RabbitHorseRatOx
MonkeyRat, DragonSnakeRabbitTiger
RoosterSnake, OxDragonTigerRabbit
DogTiger, HorseRabbitSnakeDragon
PigRabbit, GoatTigerDragonSnake

One note: in saju, the year turns at Ipchun (the start of spring), not on New Year's Day; our How We Calculate page uses this rule. If you are not sure of your animal, our Korean Zodiac Sign by Date of Birth page can help.

Why a full saju match looks at more than two animals

The birth-year animal is one piece of a saju chart. The folk encyclopedia draws this line clearly: unlike the methods that look at the birth-year animal alone, the saju method compares both people's whole charts, year, month, day and hour, and looks at the balance of yin, yang and the five elements, as well as the family-role relationships inside the charts. In other words, two people with a wonjin pair of animals can still have charts that sit together in many other ways, and a six harmonies pair is one small piece of the picture.

Both encyclopedias also say the custom carries less weight than it once did. The folk encyclopedia notes that in traditional society a poor match could end a marriage plan, but today many couples marry even when the match is said to be poor, and that the custom's influence has been fading as people choose their own partners. The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture says the practice has been gradually disappearing with changing customs and industrialization, and even notes that gunghap sometimes served as a polite excuse to turn down a proposal.

So a good way to enjoy these lists is with curiosity and a smile. They are a window into how people once thought about families coming together, not a rule for anyone's life. Please don't use this chart to judge a real partner, family member or colleague.

If you would like to see two full charts side by side for fun, try our Compatibility Check.

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