Resources on Shamanism in Korea and East Asia

Shaman Dance (무녀신축) by Gisan Kim Jun-geun (기산 김준근)

 
​Here are a number of links to articles on shamanism in Korea and other East Asian cultures. Click on each title to open the document.

• New Technologies in Korean Shamanism: Cultural Innovation and Preservation of Tradition, by Liora Sarfati (2014)

• Korean Shamanism: Mu, by Cha Ok-Soong (2001)

• Korean Shamans and the Spirits of Capitalism, by Laurel Kendall (1996)

• Dancing on Knives: An Introduction to the Politics of Sexuality and Gender in Korean Shamanism, by Heinz Insu Fenkl (n.d.)

• Mu: A Reflection of Shamanism and Synthesis, by Heinz Insu Fenkl (1997)

• Nothing Says "Lucky" Like a Swine Head (2011)
• Shamanism in Cross-Cultural Perspective, by Michael Winkelman (2013)
• Jeju Shamans Healing Minds and Hearts, by Anne Hilty (2011)
• Korean Shaman Paintings as Objects of Ambiguity, by Laurel Kendall and Jongsung Yang (2015)
• Cyber Shamanism in South Korea, by Dirk Schlottmann (2013)
• Female Mountain Spirits in Korea, by James Grayson (1996)
• Meeting with Sanshin, by Lauren W. Deutsch (1993)
• Korean Shaman Art, edited by Lauren W. Deutsch (2009)
• The Mysterious Lonely Saint: Dokseong Images in Korea, by Beatrix Mecsi and David A. Mason
• Why is the Lonely Saint so Lonely in Korea's Buddhist Monasteries? by Beatrix Mecsi (2010)
• A Shamanic Korean Ritual for Transforming Death and Sickness into Rebirth and Integration, Nami Lee and Eun Young Kim (2017) 
• Theories of Disease: Shamanistic Healing Rituals in Korea, by Tae-han Hong (nd).  
• The Sponsorship of Korean Shamanic Healing Rituals, by Thomas G. Park (2017) 
• A Tricky Business: Mongolian and Korean Shamans in the Modern World, by Josh Philip Ross (2015)

And the following is an excellent resource in English regarding many aspects of Korean folk culture, including numerous topics related to Korean shamanism, published and maintained by the National Folk Museum of Korea:
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• Encyclopedia of Korean Folk Culture

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​Bibliography of English Language Resources On Korean Shamanism

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Blacker, Carmen (1999). The Catalpa Bow: A Study of Shamanistic Practices in Japan. London: Routledge.

Bruno, Antonetta L. (2002). The Gate of Words: Language in the Rituals of Korean Shamans. Leiden, The Netherlands: Research School of Asian, African, and Amerindian Studies (CNWS), Universiteit Leiden.

Cho, Hung-youn (1999). Cultural Interbreeding between Korean Shamanism and Imported Religions. Diogenes 47(3): 50-61.

Choi, Chongmoo (1989). The Artistry and Ritual Aesthetics of Urban Korean Shamans. Journal of Ritual Studies 3(2): 235-49.

Ch'oe, Kilsǒng (1984). Male and Female in Korean Folk Belief. Asian Folklore Studies. 43(2):227-233.

Choe, Chun-sik (2006). Folk-religion: The Customs in Korea. Seoul: Ewha Womans University Press.

Covell, Alan Carter (1993 3rd ed.) Folk Art and Magic: Shamanism in Korea. Elizabeth, NJ: Hollym International Corporation.
 
Covell, Alan Carter (1984). Shamanist Folk Painting: Korea's Eternal Spirits. Elizabeth, NJ: Hollym International.

Deutsch, Lauren W. (1993). Meeting with Sanshin: An Interview with Hiah Park, Lover of the Mountain God. Kyoto Journal, vol. 25. 
 
Deutsch, Lauren W.(ed.) (2009). Korean Shaman Art. Korea Art Society Newsletter, Vol. 1, no. 1: 3-46. 

Deutsch, Lauren W. (2009) Don’t Buy the “Buddha”! An Overview of Collecting Korean Shaman Paraphernalia. Korean Art Society Newsletter. 1 (1): 23-28.

Grayson, James Huntly (1992). The Accommodation of Korean Folk Religion to the Religious Forms of Buddhism: An Example of Reverse Syncretism. Asian Folklore Studies Vol. 51, No. 2 (1992), pp. 199-217.

Grayson, James H. (1996). Female Mountain Spirits in Korea: A Neglected Tradition.  Asian Folklore Studies, Volume 55: 119-134.

Grayson, James H. (1998). Sŏngha Sindang: The Tutelary Shrine of T'aeha Village, Ullŭng Island, Korea. Asian Folklore Studies. 57(2):275-291.

Grim, John A. (1984). Chaesu Kut: A Korean Shamanistic Performance. Asian Folklore Studies. 43(2):235-259.

Guisso, Richard W. I. (1988). Shamanism: The Spirit World of Korea (Studies in Korean Religions and Culture, 1). Fremont, CA: Jain Pub Co.
 
Harvey, Youngsook Kim (1979). Six Korean Women: The Socialization of Shamans (American Ethnological Society Monographs). West Group Publishing.
 
Hogarth, Hyun-key Kim (1999). Korean Shamanism and Cultural Nationalism. Jimoondang Pub. Co.

Hong, Tae-han (nd).  Theories of Disease: Shamanistic Healing Rituals in Korea. ICH Courier Online – Intangible Cultural Heritage Courier of Asia and the Pacific. http://ichcourier.ichcap.org/en/theories-of-disease-shamanistic-healing-rituals-in-korea-2/

Howard, Keith (1991). Paper Symbols in Chindo "Ssikkim Kut": a Korean Shamanistic Ceremony. Cahiers d'Extrême-Asie  (1991)   Vol. 6,  pp. 65-86.
https://www.persee.fr/doc/asie_0766-1177
 
Howard, Keith (Editor) (1998). Korean Shamanism: Revivals, Survivals, and Change. The Royal Asiatic Society, Korea Branch, Seoul Press.
 
Huhm, Halla (1980). Kut: Korean Shamanistic Rituals. Weatherhill.

Hwang, Merose (2007). “The Mudang: The Colonial Legacies of Korean Shamanism”. In Han Kut: Critical Art and Writing by Korean Canadian Women, edited by The Korean Canadian Women's Anthology Collective. Pp 103-119.
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Im, Sok-Chae (Editor), Alan C. Heyman (Editor) (2003). Mu-Ga: The Ritual Songs of the Korean Mudangs. Fremont, CA: Asian Humanities Press.

Jang, Nam-hyuck (2000). Shamanism In Korean Christianity(Korean Studies Dissertation Series No. 4).  Seoul: Jinmoodang International.

Kendall, Laurel (1984). Korean Shamanism: Women's Rites and a Chinese Comparison. Senri Ethnological Studies 11: 57-73.
 
Kendall, Laurel (1985). Shamans, Housewives, and Other Restless Spirits. (Study of the East Asian Institute) Honolulu, HI: University of Hawaii Press.
 
Kendall, Laurel (1988). Life and Hard Times of a Korean Shaman: Of Tales and the Telling of Tales. Honolulu, HI: University of Hawaii Press.

Kendall, Laurel (1996). Korean Shamans and the Spirits of Capitalism.  American Anthropologist 98 (3): 512-527.

Kendall, Laurel (2008). Of hungry ghosts and other matters of consumption in the Republic of Korea: The commodity becomes a ritual prop.  American Ethnologist, 35(1): 154-170.
 
Kendall, Laurel (2010). Shamans, Nostalgias, and the IMF: South Korean Popular Religion in Motion. Honolulu, HI: University of Hawaii Press.

Kendall, Laurel, and Jongsung Yang (2015). What is an Animated Image? Korean Shaman Paintings as Objects of Ambiguity. Hau: Journal of Ethnographic Theory 5 (2): 153-175.
 
Kendall, Laurel, Jongsung Yang, Yeolsu Yoon (2015), God Pictures in Korean Contexts: The Ownership and Meaning of Shaman Paintings. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.

Kim, Chongho (2003). Korean Shamanism: The Cultural Paradox. (Vitality of Indigenous Religions Series). Ashgate Publishing.
 
Kim, David J. (2013). Critical Mediations: Haewŏn Chinhon Kut, a Shamanic Ritual for Korean Comfort Women. Positions: East Asia Cultures Critique, Volume 21, Number 3, Summer 2013, pp. 725-754.

Kim, David J. (2015). Visions and Stones: Spirit Matters and the Charm of Small Things in South Korean Shamanic Rock Divination. Anthropology and Humanism, 40 (1): 1–19.

Kim, Jin-Young & Young-Gun Ko (2011). Korean Shamans and Childhood Trauma. The Journal of Psychohistory 39 (1): 41-49.

Kim, Seong-nae (2004). Shamanic Epics and Narrative Construction of Identity on Cheju Island, Asian Folklore Studies, Volume 63: 57-78.

Kim, Tae-gon (1988). Regional characteristics of Korean shamanism. In Yu, Chai-shin & Guisso, R. (eds.), Shamanism. The spirit world of Korea. Berkeley, California: Asian Humanities Press, 119-130.
 
Kim, Tae-kon (1998). Korean Shamanism: Muism. Jinmoondang International.

Kister, Daniel A. (1995). Dramatic Characteristics of Korean Shaman Ritual. Shaman Vol 3, no. 1-2, pp. 33-60.
 
Kister,  Daniel A. (2006). Korean Shamanist Ritual: Symbols and Dramas of Transformation. Fremont, CA: Jain Pub Co.
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Koudela, Pál & Yoo, Jinil. (2016). Music and Musicians in Kut, the Korean Shamanic Ritual. Revista de etnografie şi folclor (Bucureşti) [Journal of ethnography and folklore]. 1-2: 87-106.

Lee, Jung Young (1973). The Seasonal Rituals of Korean Shamanism. History of Religions 12(3): 271-287.
 
Lee, Jung Young (1973). Concerning the Origin and Formation of Korean Shamanism.  Numen, Vol. 20, Fasc. 2 (Aug., 1973), pp. 135-159.

Lee, Jung Young (1981). Korean Shamanist Rituals. The Hague, Netherlands: Mouton Publishers.

Lee, Kun Jong (2004).  Princess Pari in Nora Okja Keller's Comfort Woman. Positions – Asia Critique 12 (2): 431-456.

Lee, Nami, and Kim, Eun-Young (2017). A Shamanic Korean Ritual for Transforming Death and Sickness into Rebirth and Integration. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science  7(5): 75-80.

Mason, David (1999). Spirit of the Mountains: Korea’s Sanshin and Traditions of Mountain-Worship. Elizabeth, NJ: Hollym.

McBride, Richard (2006). What Is the Ancient Korean Religion? Act Koreana 9(2): 1-30.

Mecsi, Beatrix (2010). Dokseong: Korea's Mysterious Lonely Saint. Mélanges Offerts à Marc Orange et Alexandre Guillemoz. Cahiers d’Études Coréennes8: 357-365. Paris: Institut d’Études Coréennes, Collège de France (ISSN 0769-7295).

Mills, Simon (2012). Sounds to soothe the soul: music and bereavement in a traditional South Korean death ritual. Mortality 17(2): 145-157.

Oak, Sung-deuk (2010). Healing and Exorcism - Christian Encounters with Shamanism in Early Modern Korea. Asian Ethnology 69(I): 95-128.

Park, Jecheol (2017). Korean Shamanic Experience in the Age of Digital Intermediality: Park Chan-kyong’s Manshin. Concentric: Literary and Cultural Studies 43 (2): 107-132.
 
Park, Jun Hwan (2012). "Money is the Filial Child. But, at the same time, it is also the Enemy!": Korean Shamanic Rituals for Luck and Fortune. Journal of Korean Religions Volume 3, Number 2, pp. 39-72.

Park, Thomas G. (2017). Why the sponsorship of Korean shamanic healing rituals is best explained by the clients’ ostensible reasons. European Journal for Philosophy of Religion 9(3): 1-24. 

Rhi, Bou-Young (1993). “The Phenomenology and Psychology of Korean Shamanism.” In Guttorm Fløistad (ed.), Asian Philosophy, vol. 7, pp. 253-268. Dordrecht & Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Sarfati, Liora (2016). Shifting Agencies through New Media: New Social Statuses for Female South Korean Shamans. Journal of Korean Studies 21(1): 179-211.

Schlotttmann, Dirk (2013). Cyber Shamanism in South Korea. 사이버사회문화 (Journal of Cyber Society & Culture) 4(2): 29-61.

Schlottmann, Dirk (2018). Spirit Possession in Korean Shaman Rituals of the Hwanghaedo Tradition. Journal for the Study of Religious Experience 4: 3-23.

Synott, John (2010). The Spirit of the Mountains: Korea's San-Shin and Traditions of Mountain Worship Acta Koreana. 13(2): 199-205.

Tran, Tommy (2018) Acquired Tastes: Urban Impacts on Jeju Shamanic Ritual. The Review of Korean Studies Volume 21 Number 1 (December 2018): 93-124.

Walraven, Boudewijn (1983). Korean Shamanism (Review Article). Numen 30(2): 240-264.

Walraven, Boudewijn (1994). Songs of the Shaman. London: Routledge.
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Walraven, Boudewijn (2001). “Opening the Gate of Writing: Literate Shamans in Modern Korea”. In The Concept of Shamanism: Uses and Abuses, ed. by Henri P. Francfort, Roberte Hamayon, and Paul G. Bahn, 331–348. Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó.

Walraven, Boudewijn (2002). “Weavers of Ritual: How Shamans Achieve Their Aims”. The Review of Korean Studies, Vol 5 no. 1: 85–104.

Walraven, Boudewijn (2009). “National Pantheon, Regional Deities, Personal Spirits? Mushindo, Sŏngsu, and the Nature of Korean Shamanism”. Asian Ethnology Vol. 68, no. 1: 55–80. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25614521

Walraven, Boudewijn (2011). Divine Territory: Shaman Songs, Elite Culture and the Nation. Korean Histories 2(2): 42-58

Yi, Kris Yongmi (2000). Shin-byung (divine illness) in a Korean woman. Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry, 24(4): 471-486.

Yoo, Jinil, & Koudela, Pal (2014). Sesŭmmu. Distinction, Debate and Features of Hereditary Mudang in Korea. Acta Ethnographica Hungarica, 59, 429–440. https://doi.org/10.1556/AETHN.59.2014.2.12


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