Lim Hyun-soo
Young Korean shaman revives ancient traditions through social media {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}}
SEOUL — Decorated with statues of Buddha and local deities, candles and incense, Lee Kyung-hyun's shrine resembles those of Korean shamans from centuries ago.
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But the 29-year-old shaman, also known as Aegiseonnyeo (“baby fairy”), is reaching out to clients in a thoroughly modern way – through social media accounts with hundreds of thousands of followers.
“Shamanism was believed to be an invisible, mysterious spiritual world,” Lee said, adding that since he launched his YouTube channel in 2019, he had noticed an increase in Korean shamans posting videos about their spiritual practices.
South Korea has one of the world's most modern, high-tech economies – and polls suggest more than half of its 51 million people have no religious affiliation – but the appeal of shamanism has endured through the ages.
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Kim Dong-kyu, from the Korean Center for the Study of Religion at Sogang University, a private research university in Seoul, said shamans used to advertise themselves in newspapers and it was a “natural phenomenon” for them to turn to social media.
According to Google Trends, searches on YouTube for the Korean words “shaman” and “fortune telling” have nearly doubled in the past five years.
This spiritual tradition is central to the storyline of this year's blockbuster South Korean film “Ekshuma,” in which a shaman is tasked with lifting a curse placed on a family.
The film depicts well-dressed shamans in their 20s and 30s, and director Jang Jae-hyun said he found many younger shamans during his research.
The film has grossed at least 132 billion won ($1.2 billion) at the global box office and raised interest in religious traditions: About one in five South Koreans has seen “Exhuma,” according to data from the Korea Film Council.
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“In the past, people hid their lives as shamans. There was a lot of prejudice,” said Bang Eun-mi, 51, who has been a shaman for about 20 years. She said modern shamans are more proactive in expressing and promoting themselves.
Shamans, who are believed to have the ability to tell fortunes, typically charge around 100,000 won for a 30- to 60-minute consultation, according to Pan and an online price list seen by Reuters. They offer relationship advice, job-hunting guidance and predicting the future, Lee said.
The shaman usually answers questions after performing a ritual that involves ringing bells and throwing rice grains.
They also pray for divine intervention by singing, dancing, and walking on knife edges. Customs vary, but many Korean shamans worship local deities such as mountain gods, great spirit grandmothers, or dragon kings.
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Park Chia-bin, a 33-year-old Buddhist, visited Lee in 2020 when she was struggling to find work, and said she found “peace of mind” after hearing his advice.
“I was very anxious at the time, but once I decided to let things go and focus on what I had to do, I felt a little better,” said Park, who got a job around the same time.
“I'm a Buddhist, but I know Christians around me who come here with problems.”
Economic anxiety
Lee said that since he was a teenager he has experienced physical pain and mental illness – symptoms that some believe are signs that a god is possessing the budding shaman.
She decided to embrace her calling in 2018 and soon launched her YouTube channel, which now has over 300,000 subscribers, where she posts videos on topics such as what she carries in her bag and the fate of the country in 2024.
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“The current state of Korean society is a factor that cannot be ignored,” she said, adding that many millennial and Gen Z clients come to her with concerns about affordable housing and the cost of raising children.
In Seoul, where Lee is based, home prices are set to rise to more than 15 times the average salary by 2022, up from 8.8 times in 2017, according to a government report. The country is also struggling with high inflation and interest rates.
Han Seung-hoon, an assistant professor at the Academician of Korean Studies, a research and teaching institute under the Ministry of Education, said the younger generation of shamans living in the city are better able to connect with younger clients who are facing economic challenges for which they cannot find solutions.
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Fighting Prejudice
In 2022, the Agency for Cultural Affairs estimated that there were between 300,000 and 400,000 shamans and fortune tellers in South Korea.
The agency says on its website that shamanism is “an important and powerful part of the Korean character.”
The origins of shamanism on the Korean peninsula date back at least 2,000 years, Han said.
Japanese colonial rule in the early 20th century and military dictatorship in the 1970s viewed shamanism as an obstacle to modernization and tried to suppress it.
Politically influential Christians, who make up about a quarter of the population, also criticize shamans and their followers.
Han noted that major religions such as Christianity and Buddhism, of which about 40 percent of South Koreans say they are followers, have a greater influence in society but do not face the same level of criticism.
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Lee said Christians also visit shamans in South Korea. “Even churchgoers want their bad dreams read,” she said.
Recently, some sorcerers have found themselves in legal trouble: A 66-year-old sorcerer in Seoul was convicted of defrauding clients out of more than $200,000 and sentenced to four years in prison in February, local media reported.
The court ruled that Sherman had pretended to be speaking to his client's deceased mother.
Lee believes it's wrong for shamans to make decisions for their clients. She said shamans act as guides, like friends or family offering advice, rather than decision-makers.
Some members of South Korea's elite have ties to shamans.
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Min Hee-jin, a top entertainment executive embroiled in a business dispute with a major K-pop label, defended herself at a press conference in April against allegations that she had consulted shamans for business purposes.
Ming said she spoke with the shaman in the hopes that talking would make her feel better. “Why don't you all do that too?”
A 2022 study published in the journal BMC Psychiatry noted a “significant” gap in Koreans needing mental health treatment but receiving it, and said stigma is partly to blame.
“Shamans have played the role of counselors,” said Kim, the religious studies professor.
“People have stigmatized shamanism as something dirty, suspicious and scary,” Han said, adding that his visitors are sometimes accused of trying to tarnish shamans' reputations.
This article has been generated from an automated news agency feed without any modifications to the text.
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