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Religious beliefs

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Main articles: Korean shamanism, Korean Buddhism, and Korean Confucianism
A mudang performing a kut ritual in Seoul, South Korea.

Shamanism

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Korean shamanism, or musok (무속; 巫俗), is one of the oldest religions in Korea, and still survives to this day.[1] Practitioners of Korean shamanism are usually female, though male shamans do exist as well.[2] Korean shamans of either gender can be called mudang or mansin, while paksu is a term only for a male shaman.[2] The two main ways one becomes a shaman are either hereditarily, or by suffering through mubyŏng ("spirit possession sickness").[3][4] The main role of the mudang is to perform rituals, or kut, to achieve various means, including healing, divination, and spirit pacification.[1][3] Simultaneously a religious affair and a visual and auditory spectacle, kut are full of bright colors, elaborate costumes, altars piled high with ritual food and alcohol, various forms of singing and dancing accompanied by traditional instruments, and props including fans, bells, and knives.[5] While the most well-known rituals are characterized by spirit possession, for most hereditary shamans, as well as in some regional variations, the shaman's role is to honor the spirits and deities rather than be possessed by them.[1][6]

Despite the social stigma surrounding the performance of a kut even today, there are still many clients who are willing, though potentially ashamed, to pay immense sums to enlist the help of a mansin when in need.[2]

Throughout South Korea’s political turmoil in the 20th century, musok stayed strong against systemic persecution.[7]Indeed, several festivals and kut have been preserved as intangible cultural heritage under the 1962 Cultural Heritage Protection Act, and the esteemed mudang Kim Keum-hwa was designated as a Living National Treasure in 1985.[7] In the 1970’s and 80’s, Korean shamanism was used as a form of protest against the government by the pro-democracy Popular Culture Movement. Whether willing to participate in political dissidence or not, under the movement’s minjung (“the people”) ideology, long-oppressed shamans were painted as the bearers of Korean culture who could also use their spirit-possession kut to give voice to those who had died for social justice causes.[7]

In recent times, Korean shamanism is evolving, with its growing popularity in media today, and the adaptability of its practitioners in a modernized world. Mudang have more control over their public image, now using documentaries and television along with personal websites to advertise and present their own stories.[3]

Monks going down to their rooms after evening prayers at Haeinsa.

Buddhism and Confucianism

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Buddhism and Confucianism were later introduced to Korea through cultural exchanges with Chinese dynasties. Buddhism was the official religion of the Goryeo dynasty, and many privileges were given to Buddhist monks during this period. However, the Joseon period saw the suppression of Buddhism, where Buddhist monks and temples were banned from the cities and confined to the countryside. In its place a strict form of Confucianism, which some see as even more strict than what had ever been adopted by the Chinese, became the official philosophy.[8] Korean Confucianism was epitomized by the seonbi class, scholars who passed up positions of wealth and power to lead lives of study and integrity.

Christianity

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Christianity in Korea has a complex history that spans through several centuries. The first recorded contact with Christianity dates back to the late 16th century during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) where Korean Confucian scholars encountered Catholicism in China.[9] Yi Gwang-jeong is known as one of the earliest Korean Catholics who later faced persecution and challenges in Korea. [10]

It was not until later in the 19th century when Protestant missionaries from the West arrived in Korea that Christianity was more widespread.[11] During this period, tremendous social and political upheaval occurred through Japanese occupation. In consequence, rapid growth ensued after the war when Korea was freed in 1945.

During the Japanese colonial rule (1910-1945), the North of Korea became the more industrial region which caused the area to be highly receptive to Catholic and Protestant missionaries. The Korean War (1950-1953) and its division of the Korean Peninsula caused most Christians to flee to South Korea due to North Korea’s Soviet-influenced state policy of atheism.[12][13]

Throughout Korean history and culture, regardless of separation, the traditional beliefs of Korean Shamanism, Mahayana Buddhism and Confucianism have remained an underlying influence of the religion of the Korean people as well as a vital aspect of their culture.[14] In fact, all these traditions coexisted peacefully for hundreds of years. They still exist in the more Christian South[15]and in the North, despite pressure from its government.[16]

  1. ^ a b c Koo, John H. (2004). An Introduction to Korean Culture. Hollym International Corporation. pp. 131–133. ISBN 978-1565912847.
  2. ^ a b c Kim, Chongho (2003). Korean Shamanism: The Cultural Paradox. Ashgate. p. 5. ISBN 978-1138710504.
  3. ^ a b c Sarfati, Liora (2021-08-03), Contemporary Korean Shamanism: From Ritual to Digital, Indiana University Press, p. 7, doi:10.2307/j.ctv21hrjd9
  4. ^ Ch'oe, Kil-sŏng (1989). "The Symbolic Meaning of Shamanic Ritual in Korean Folk Life". Journal of Ritual Studies. 3 (2): 217–233. ISSN 0890-1112. JSTOR 44368938.
  5. ^ Kim Hogarth, Hyun-key (1999). Korean Shamanism and Cultural Nationalism. Jimoondang Publishing Company. pp. 149–171. ISBN 978-8988095140.
  6. ^ Ch'oe, Kil-sŏng (1989). "The Symbolic Meaning of Shamanic Ritual in Korean Folk Life". Journal of Ritual Studies. 3 (2): 224. ISSN 0890-1112. JSTOR 44368938.
  7. ^ a b c Kendall, Laurel (2009). Shamans, nostalgias, and the IMF: South Korean popular religion in motion. Honolulu: Univ. of Hawaii Press. p. 19. ISBN 978-0-8248-3398-5.
  8. ^ Buddhism in Korea, Korean Buddhism Magazine, Seoul 1997 Archived 2009-04-26 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ Kim, Sebastian Chang-Hwan; Kim, Kirsteen (2015). A history of Korean christianity. New York (N.Y.): Cambridge university press. ISBN 978-0-521-19638-3.
  10. ^ Yu, K. Kale (2019). Understanding Korean Christianity: grassroot perspectives on causes, culture, and responses. Eugene, Oregon: Pickwick Publications. ISBN 978-1-5326-9253-6.
  11. ^ Park, Chung-Shin (2003). Protestantism and politics in Korea. Korean studies of the Henry M. Jackson School of international studies. Seattle (Wash.): University of Washington press. ISBN 978-0-295-98149-9.
  12. ^ Chung, David; Oh, Kang-nam (2001). Syncretism: the religious context of Christian beginning in Korea. SUNY series in Korean studies. Albany (N.Y.): State university of New York press. ISBN 978-0-7914-4942-4.
  13. ^ Baker, Don, ed. (2014). Critical readings on christianity in Korea. Critical readings. Leiden Boston: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-26053-5.
  14. ^ Asia Society – Historical and Modern Religions of Korea
  15. ^ "About Korea – Religion". Korea.net. Archived from the original on 2010-03-06. Retrieved 2012-07-15.
  16. ^ "CIA The World Factbook – North Korea". Cia.gov. Retrieved 2012-07-15.
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