There is an old saying, “삼인성호(三人成虎),” which means, “If three people gather, they can create a nonexistent tiger.” This phrase implies that if several people repeat a lie, it becomes believable.
In Korean, the number “3” is particularly significant. Examples include “천지인” (Heaven, Earth, and Human), the “three branches of government” (Legislative, Judicial, and Executive), the three tenses (past, present, and future), and the Three Kingdoms (Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla). The use of the number “3” is widespread.
“Three People Form a Group?”
An interesting experiment was featured in the EBS program “The Two Faces of Human Nature.” The experiment explored the question, “How many people are needed to influence others?” Essentially, “How many people are required to change a situation?”
The experiment tested how the reactions of passersby varied when one, two, or three people looked up at the sky.
“When One Person Looks Up at the Sky”
When a single person looked up at the sky on a busy street, most passersby were indifferent and did not react.
“When Two People Look Up at the Sky”
In the second experiment, two people looked up at the sky. Again, the situation did not change significantly. Only a few passersby reacted briefly and intermittently.
“When Three People Look Up at the Sky”
In the third experiment, three people looked up at the sky. This time, many passersby stopped and looked up as well.
“Three People Form a Group”
Why did three people looking up at the sky elicit a reaction from others? According to psychologists, when three people gather, they are perceived as a group. Therefore, while two people did not attract much attention, three people did.
“The 2005 Subway Rescue Incident”
Today, most subway stations in Korea have screen doors, but in the past, many did not, leading to various accidents. In 2005, a passenger got trapped between a train and the platform at Sindang Station on Line 2. The response from the public was moving: everyone got off the train and pushed it to save the trapped passenger.
This incident can also be related to the rule of three. Someone suggested pushing the train, and two more people joined in, quickly transforming the situation and enabling collective action.
Ultimately, this shows that it often takes “three” people to initiate action. Perhaps the ancients understood this, which is why there are so many proverbs and stories involving the number three.