JINSEOK SEO the Role of Shamanism in Korean Society in Its Inter- and Intra-Cultural Contacts
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DISSERTATIONES FOLKLORISTICAE UNIVERSITATIS TARTUENSIS 20 JINSEOK SEO The role of shamanism in Korean society in its inter- and intra-cultural contacts Tartu 2013 ISSN 1406–7366 ISBN 978–9949–32–297–8 DISSERTATIONES FOLKLORISTICAE UNIVERSITATIS TARTUENSIS 20 DISSERTATIONES FOLKLORISTICAE UNIVERSITATIS TARTUENSIS 20 JINSEOK SEO The role of shamanism in Korean society in its inter- and intra-cultural contacts Department of Estonian and Comparative Folklore, Faculty of Philosophy The dissertation is accepted for the commencement of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Estonian and Comparative Folklore) on 07.05.2013 by the Institute of Cultural Research and Fine Arts, University of Tartu. Supervisor: Professor Ülo Valk Opponents: Dr Mihály Hoppál (Institute of Ethnology, Hungarian Academy of Sciences) Dr Aado Lintrop (Estonian Folklore Archives, Estonian Literary Museum) Commencement: 06.06.2013 at 12.15 in the main building of the University of Tartu (Senate Hall) Language editor: Daniel E. Allen This research was supported by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund (Center of Excellence CECT). ISSN 1406–7366 ISBN 978–9949–32–297–8 (print) ISBN 978–9949–32–298–5 (PDF) Copyright: Jinseok Seo, 2013 University of Tartu Press www.tyk.ee Order No. 190 CONTENTS PUBLICATION HISTORY .................................................................... 7 INSTEAD OF FOREWORD .................................................................... 8 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................ 9 2. OUTLINES OF KOREAN SHAMANISM ........................................ 13 2.1. The shaman and shamanism according to Eliade and others......... 13 2.2. Conceptualisations of shamanism in Korea .................................... 16 2.2.1. Korean shamanism and Eliade ............................................. 16 2.2.2. Korean shamanism and the technique of ecstasy ................. 17 2.2.3. Korean and Siberian shamanism .......................................... 19 2.3. Korean shamanism as folklore (as musok) ..................................... 21 2.4. Korean shamanism as a religion (as mugyo) .................................. 22 2.4.1. Shamanism as a folk religion ............................................... 25 2.4.2. Shamanism as a primitive religion ....................................... 26 2.4.3. Shamanism as vernacular religion ........................................ 32 2.5. Gods in Korean shamanism ............................................................ 33 2.6. Connections between shamanism and Korean nationalism ........... 37 3. THE NARRATIVE GENRES OF KOREAN SHAMANISM.......... 42 3.1 Muga as a resource of mythology .................................................. 43 3.2. Muga as a genre of folksong and the problem of the heroic epic .. 46 3.2.1. Lyrical folk songs in Korean tradition ................................. 47 3.2.2. Heroism in muga .................................................................. 49 3.2.3. Internal exchange among muga and other narrative genres .................................................................... 52 3.3. The formulaic structure of muga .................................................... 54 3.3.1. Pansori and muga ................................................................. 54 3.3.2. Muga and performance ......................................................... 55 4. THE HISTORY OF RESEARCH INTO KOREAN SHAMANISM: SYNOPSIS ................................................................. 58 4.1. An interdisciplinary perspective on Korean shamanism and the history of its research ................................................................ 59 4.2. Current developments: shamanism as economic resource and cultural content ............................................................................... 62 5. THE METHODOLOGY OF RESEARCH AND SOURCES OF THIS DISSERTATION ................................................................. 65 6. SUMMARIES OF ARTICLES ........................................................... 69 6.1. Heroines in Korean myths (Mäetagused) ....................................... 70 6.2. The transition of sanctity into secularity: the comparative analysis of function as the carrier of ethno-symbolism: Korean Jangseung and the Lithuanian traditional wooden cross (East European Studies) ........................................................................................... 70 5 6.3. The haunted culture – Shamanic heroes in the cultural content industry of South Korea (Acta Orientalia Vilnensis) .................... 72 6.4. Shamanic influences on Korean Protestant practices as modulated by Confucianism (Shaman) .......................................... 73 7. CONCLUSION: THE TRADITION DYNAMICS OF KOREAN SHAMANISM ...................................................................................... 75 KOKKUVÕTE .......................................................................................... 77 REFERENCES .......................................................................................... 83 PUBLICATIONS....................................................................................... 89 CURRICULUM VITAE ........................................................................... 200 6 PUBLICATION HISTORY I. Seo, Jinseok 2007. Naiskangelased korea müütides. Mäetagused 37. 57–74. http://www.folklore.ee/tagused/nr37/seo.pdf II. Seo, Jinseok 2012. The transition of sanctity into the secularity. The com- parative analysis of function as the carrier of ethno-symbolism : Korean jangseung and the Lithuanian traditional wooden cross. Dongyureop Yeongu 동유럽연구 [East European Studies] 30. 107–136. III. Seo, Jinseok 2012. The haunted culture – Shamanic heroes in the cultural content industry of South Korea. Acta Orientalia Vilnensis 12. 79–104. IV. Seo, Jinseok 2013. Shamanic Influences on Korean Protestant Practices as Modulated by Confucianism. Shaman. Journal of the International Society for Shamanistic Research 21. (to be published in 2013) 7 INSTEAD OF FOREWORD I sincerely appreciate all my friends and colleagues who tolerated my short- comings and supported me while writing this thesis: Prof. dr. Ülo Valk, Prof. dr. Estera Choi, Prof. dr. Li Sanggum, Dr. Hyun Jeongim, Dr. Saule Matulevi- ciene, the shaman Yi Yongbun, the shaman Yu Sangho, the sculptor Kim Yun- suk, the sculptor Gang Seongcheol, the sculptor Kim Suho, the sculptor Kim Jongheung, the sculptor Adolfas Teresius, the sculptor Algimantas Sakalauskas, the sculptor Saulius Lampickas, Kevin Hogan, Daniel E. Allen, Byun Jaehyung and colleagues of Center for Asian Studies at Vytautas Magnus University. 8 1. INTRODUCTION1 My first contact with Korean shamanism was made even before my birth. I am not referring to an old stereotypical statement that Korean society, where I was ‘destined’ to be born, has been vastly influenced by shamanism since the be- ginning of its history. Against a totally individual background, all the lifestyles and habits of family members were lived on the basis of traditional practises that originated from Korean shamanism. In my childhood my mother told me that she was a Buddhist but quite frequently used to go to a shamanic shrine, to make an offering in front of a painting of a big tiger that was believed to be a mountain guardian and pray to the tiger for the welfare of family members. Un- doubtedly such was the typical lifestyle of women of her generation – the inclination to Buddhism, a national religion introduced from India by way of China, and at the same time customary adherence to shamanic practices, which are also still observed among sincere Christians in Korea. Regardless of her earnest devotion to a number of celestial bodies, I was very weak and finally after a diagnosis from doctors it was announced that I would not survive even to 20. To make it worse, my family’s fortune went downhill unexpectedly, thus my mother had no choice but to visit a shaman for advice and consultation. She expected that the shaman would propose an offer- ing to the Buddhist temple or that she should organise a gut, the traditional sha- manic ritual, which would with the help of good spirits heal my disease and drive out malicious spirits who controlled my family. However, what my mo- ther received from the shaman was totally unexpected and unbelievable advice. “You have to go to church. Otherwise your whole family will perish.” My mother, who hadn’t had any contact with Western culture, much less Chris- tianity until then, was really reluctant to listen to the shaman’s advice. However, my mother finally found a friendly Methodist Church nearby where a warm- hearted deaconess instructed her in a new way of life worshiping the Christian God and took care of my family, who trod the first step towards the church after quitting “the old habit of paganism”. Since it was really hard for mother to quit immediately the old habit of paying regular visits to Buddhist temples and sha- manic shrines at the same time, she still stubbornly went to these places after converting to Christianity, but the deaconess – I am not sure whether she is still alive or not – never prohibited her from going to temple, and even volunteered to take care of 2-year-old me while mother was in the temple praying to the ‘pagan’ god. 1 When transcribing Korean words, the Romanization of the Korean language that came into effect in 2000 will be observed for transcription in most cases with the exception of some globalized