Is Kong Wang (the Void) a Bad Sign?

No — Kong Wang (空亡, the "Void" or empty branches in Bazi, gongmang in Korean Saju) isn't a curse or an omen of misfortune. It's two Earthly Branches left without a partner by the structure of the sixty-Jiazi cycle: there are ten Heavenly Stems and twelve branches, so once the ten stems have all been paired off, two branches always remain empty. Old texts gave that empty seat a heavy reading, but it's a matter of reference — not a fixed fate.

Where do the "empty branches" actually come from?

Nobody assigns them on a whim; they fall out of arithmetic. Within the xun (旬) your Day Pillar belongs to — one of the groups of ten inside the sixty-Jiazi cycle — pairing all ten stems leaves exactly two branches over, and those two are the Void of that xun. Take a Ji-You (己酉) Day Pillar, for example, and the Void comes out as Yin (寅) and Mao (卯). Gwiraedang computes this rule in code, deterministically, and marks right on the chart board which of your pillars sits in the Void. The full derivation is laid out in the Void (Gongmang) guide.

Should I believe "anything in the Void comes to nothing"?

Not at face value. It's true that classical readings saw matters in a Void seat as prone to spinning their wheels or bearing thin fruit. But turn "empty" around and it also means there's room left to be filled. An area touched by the Void can be read as one that grows more comfortable when you fill it with learning, relationships, and inner life rather than gripping at visible possessions or achievements — a signal that here, it's okay to loosen your hold a little. Like a bell that only rings because it's hollow, emptiness makes space for ease and reflection.

What if someone uses Kong Wang to scare me?

Treat it exactly like any other symbolic star. If a frightening diagnosis comes first and an expensive remedy follows, it's fair to step back and ask whether that fear is just the raw material for a sales pitch — this connects with the "your Saju is bad" note, and it's the same grain as Yang Ren, the "Goat Blade" — a star named after a blade that rereads as decisiveness — and Kui Gang, the "Chief Star", whose old warnings about extremes reread as a specialist's temperament. The Void is never the main reading of a chart, only a supporting clue laid on top, and schools genuinely differ on how much weight to give it. What fills the empty seat is decided not by the characters, but by you.