Korean Shamanism - Revival As Cultural Society

Revival As Cultural Society

The government has discouraged belief in shamanism as superstition and for many years minimized its persistence in Korean life. Yet in a climate of growing nationalism and cultural self-confidence, the dances, songs, and incantations that compose the gut have come to be recognized as an important aspect of Korean culture.

Beginning in the 1970s, rituals that formerly had been kept out of foreign view began to resurface, and occasionally even the manager of a Western-style hotel or other executive could even be seen attending a shamanic exorcism in the course of opening a new branch in Seoul. Some of these aspects of gut have been designated valuable cultural properties that need to be preserved and passed on to future generations.

The future of shamanism itself was uncertain in the late 1980s. However, observers believed that many of shamanism's applications would probably be performed by the psychiatric profession as the government expands mental health treatment facilities in the future. Given the uncertainty of social, economic, and political conditions, however, it appears certain that shamans will find large numbers of clients for some time to come.