The Conflicts and Compromises of the Two Cosmologies Making Korean Shamanism

Abstract

This article explores how the unique cosmology of Korean shamanism, which continues to function as a living religion in contemporary Korea, has been shaped. A key characteristic of the cosmology in Korean shamanism is its combination of two cosmological beliefs. First, it adheres to the general shamanistic cosmology of protection, where suffering caused by supernatural beings can be overcome through the protection of even more powerful beings, who also assist in predicting the future. Second, it incorporates the belief that human life and the universe operate according to specific cosmological principles. The coexistence of these two distinct cosmologies which form an explanatory system of modern Korean shamanism reflects the historical experiences of Koreans with Confucianism during the Joseon dynasty and with Western modernity. In this paper, I analyze the dynamics of conflict and compromise between the two cosmologies through a historical approach and case studies. Specifically, I examine the use of the terms ‘unse (wheel of fortune)’ and ‘spirit’s intervention’ as conceptual metaphors representing each cosmology, as they are employed in interactions between shamans and their clients. Furthermore, I maintain that contemporary Korean shamanism is a form of religious practice constructed as a compromise between various worldviews, including those of shamans and their clients.

1. Introduction

This research explores how modern Korean shamanism has been reconstructed while expanding its spectrum of cosmological ideology. Korean folklore scholarship, which consists of the mainstream of shamanism studies, has primarily focused on the preservation and inheritance of shamanic traditions, often framed within discourses of recovering its ‘original form’. Kim (2016, 2023), however, maintains that such essentialist perspectives tend to mythologize shamanism as a unique religion or psychological attribute of Koreans, rendering its contemporary features as deviations of its ‘original form’ and objects of correction. In the meantime, Hong (2010) reports that more than 50,000 shamanic rituals are held annually in and around Seoul, which suggests that Korean shamanism is not merely a remnant of traditional culture or a marker of premodernity. Rather, it continues to function as a meaningful religious worldview for modern Koreans. This phenomenon invites a reconsideration of shamanism, not only as a symbol of Korean religious heritage or cultural value but also as a contemporary religious practice through which Koreans interpret and give meaning to their lives. In this context, interpreting contemporary shamanic practices requires an interpretive framework that can amend and complement essentialist and static explanations.

To propose a framework for understanding the contemporaneity and persistence of Korean shamanism, this study begins with a fundamental question: how can we explain the popularity of shamanic practices in contemporary Korean society, as evidenced by the frequency of shamanic rituals in and around Seoul, despite various negative perceptions of contemporary shamanic practices? The image of shamanism as a representation of Korean culture and spirituality, often shaped by the romantic and nationalistic perspectives, provides a superficial answer that fails to adequately explain why so many ordinary Koreans engage in fortune-telling and shamanic rituals. Few people would bear the significant costs of shamanic rituals merely because shamanism is deemed a cultural asset.

Where, then, can we locate the reasons behind the continued practice of shamanism among modern Koreans? This study posits that contemporary shamanism retains an effective explanatory system for addressing the everyday experiences and existential concerns of Koreans. The characteristics of this explanatory system, in turn, constitute the religious nature of contemporary shamanism. Specifically, this study suggests that the explanatory system of modern Korean shamanism is formed through the combination of two competing and intersecting cosmologies: beliefs in the ‘optimal universe’ and the ‘patronal universe.’

This perspective, which views the explanatory system of contemporary Korean shamanism as emerging from the interplay of two distinct cosmologies, is grounded in my own case studies. For this research, I conducted participant observation and interviews mainly with three female shamans whom I had previously encountered through informants mentioned in earlier publications. The group of informants includes Dani (58 years old now), Geumhwa Mansin (62), and Kang Bosal (73).1 A common characteristic of these informants is that they attended private courses on Saju-Myeongnihak (A fate reading principle based on Four Pillars) academy in Seoul’s Seongbuk District. Through interviews with these informants, I examined how the concept of unse, as a conceptual metaphor representing the ‘optimal universe’, is understood and appropriated by shamans known for their close relationships with spirits. However, the concept of unse, as understood and appropriated by shamans, does not fully explain how effectively this notion operates in helping modern Korean clients give meaning to their lived experiences. To address this gap, additional interviews were conducted with five women in their 40s who were regular clients of the shaman Dani’s shrine.

2. Key Concepts for Analysis

2.1. Transpositionality, Symbol, Conceptual Metaphor

The series of processes in which a shaman conducts fortune-telling and performs rituals is based on a conventional belief that the shaman can diagnose the root cause of a client’s problems through divination and that such problems can be resolved through rituals. Underlying this process is the belief in the close relationship between spirits and the world—a belief that spirits continuously intervene in and influence the domains of human life. However, the process between a client deciding to seek a shaman’s divination and ultimately supporting a ritual involves contestations not only between the shaman and the client but also between the shamanic worldview and other diverse worldviews present in contemporary Korea. Therefore, it is essential to note that the actual performance of shamanic rituals is not simply an automatic manifestation of shamanic faith but rather the product of negotiation and contestation among diverse worldviews.

Given that shamanic rituals serve as both a space and an outcome of contestations among shamans, clients, and various worldviews, the diversity of Korean shamanism can be understood. For instance, modern Korean shamanic rituals, often labeled as Jjambbong gut (hodge-podge gut) and criticized for deviating from the so-called ‘original forms’ of shamanic rituals, can be re-evaluated as the results of negotiations between shamans and clients, each carrying different worldviews.

According to performance approaches, summarized by Bell (1997, p. 74), ritual is “an event, a set of activities that does not simply express cultural values or enact symbolic scripts but actually effects changes in people’s perceptions and interpretations”. This implies that rituals are not merely mechanisms for conveying specific beliefs or values waiting to be discovered by ritual analysts. Instead, they are continually reconstituted by multiple agents―such as shamans, clients, and various worldviews―involved in ritual contexts. By reference to this implication, I maintain that a shift in perspective—from fixed ‘systems’ or fixed interpretations to the actions and interactions of ritual actors—allows for an understanding of shamanic rituals not in terms of the fixed meanings of symbols but in terms of the way how these symbols are practiced and function in ever-changing contexts.

In addition to performance approach, some ideas from symbolic anthropology of religion can offer a more effective framework for understanding contemporary shamanic rituals than functionalist perspectives that view rituals as mere vehicles for conveying specific meanings. According to Geertz (1973, pp. 93–94), religious symbols transform experiences of suffering or disorder in everyday life into meaningful entities by translating them into cosmological concepts. Turner (1967, p. 28), on the other hand, focuses on the multivocality or polysemy of symbols that constitute religious rituals, emphasizing how symbols create specific effects on participants by transforming the ideological aspects of a culture into desirable forms.

Building on this, I conceptualize the operability of religious symbols as ‘transpositionality’, referring to their capacity to traverse different levels of meaning and unveil dimensions of alternate realities. This transpositionality of symbols not only operates through the various material elements employed in shamanic rituals but also through metaphors that structure human cognition in analogous ways. Likewise, the conceptual metaphor can be used as an effective tool for explaining transpositionality. According to conceptual metaphor theory, developed notably by G. Lakoff and M. Johnson (Lakoff and Johnson [1980] 2003), metaphors are not merely ornamental language confined to rhetoric. Instead, they are cognitive devices that structure and understand one concept through another. For instance, the metaphorical expression ‘life is a journey’, commonly used in daily language, structures the abstract concept of ‘life’ through the more concrete concept of ‘journey’, shaping our understanding of life in the process. The essence of metaphor, then, lies in understanding and experiencing one kind of thing in terms of another, and I believe that conceptual metaphors are among the most effective mechanisms for enabling human understanding of the self and the world. The way conceptual metaphors and symbols operate involves linking two distinct dimensions or conceptual domains, therefore such operations converge on the notion of symbolic transposition.

2.2. The Optimal Universe and the Patronal Universe

What kinds of conceptual metaphors operate within shamanism to facilitate understanding of humans and the world? As previously noted, the defining feature of shamanic belief—that spirits continually intervene in and influence the domains of human life—can be understood through a conceptual metaphor providing orientation for action, helping individuals make sense of uncertainties and the unpredictable suffering they encounter in daily life. Historically, Confucian scholars in the Joseon Dynasty criticized shamanic practices as a wrong belief that everything such as fortune and misfortune, and even life and death is attributed to spirits’ interventions. Similarly, a newspaper from the colonial era described shamanic practices as “resorting to supernatural prayers like rain rituals as a last refuge” or “attempting to resist nature by borrowing supernatural power (Donga-Ilbo [East Asia Daily] 1926, June 25)”. These descriptions highlight not only human concerns such as life and death, and fortune and misfortune, but also an idea that humans can resist nature with the help of supernatural forces. From this perspective, I argue that the shamanic worldview is formed around the cosmological belief in a ‘patronal universe’. The ‘patronal universe’, a term borrowed from D. Martin (2004, pp. 182–86), materializes as a belief that crises, whether internal or external to human life, can be overcome through the protection of a more powerful being.

The most prominent example of belief in the ‘patronal universe’ might be Christianity, based on the concept of an omnipotent, singular God. The notion of spirits in shamanism, which intervenes in all aspects of human life and death, materializes the ‘patronal universe’ in a polytheistic way. In shamanism, human birth is believed to be granted and protected by Samsin Halmeoni (Grandmother Spirit of Childbirth). The intervention of spirits in human life extends beyond childbirth. Chilseong (Seven Star Spirits) govern health and longevity after birth, Janggun (General Spirits) and Sinjang (Spirit Warriors) protect individuals from dangers encountered during life, Daegam (Spirit Official) bring fortune and wealth necessary for daily living, and Princess Bari guides the deceased to the afterlife. These spirits are involved in every aspect of human life, from birth to death.

Moreover, in shamanic traditions with creation myths, spirits are seen as the entities that bring order to the cosmos, creating an environment suitable for human habitation. In Jeju Island’s Cheonjiwang Bonpuri (Myth of King of Heaven and Earth), two celestial kings, Daebyeol and Sobyeol, perform this function. By reducing two suns and two moons to one of each, they provided the cosmos with an order conducive to human life. While they did not create the forms and materials of the cosmos in their entirety, their act of imbuing order qualifies as creation. In regions where such creation myths are absent, it is likely that mythological thought is transmitted directly through rituals. The act of spirits imposing order to render the cosmos habitable can be interpreted as a prerequisite for human existence and as a process that enables humans to live as humans. Within this framework, I insist that conceptualizing shamanic cosmology as a ‘patronal universe’ is valid, and the conceptual metaphor best representing this cosmology is the various spirits in a shamanic pantheon.

However, my ethnographic research reveals that the vocabulary most frequently used by contemporary shamans to deliver spirits’ messages and gain clients’ agreement often belongs to a different conceptual level than the religious worldview of spirits intervening in the material world. Terms such as samjae (three disasters), saju-palja (four pillars and eight characters; birth chart), gwanjaesu (fate of legal troubles), guseolsu (fate of suffering from rumors), and so on are more commonly employed. These terms belong to the family metaphors of the conceptual metaphor unse (wheel of fortune), serving as symbolic language that demonstrates the effectiveness of the explanatory system of shamanism in contemporary Korean society. As Kim (2012) argues, if shamanism is understood as a dynamic religious practice involving negotiation and contestation among shamans, clients, and various worldviews, then the worldview represented by the concept of unse, alongside the shamanic belief in spirits’ intervention in human affairs, must be considered an integral element of the explanatory system of contemporary Korean shamanism.

The concept of unse originates from the Chinese natural philosophical principle of unsu (運數)―and has been refined in Confucian traditions―which symbolizes the circulation of creation, transformation, decay, and regeneration of a myriad of things in the universe. It represents a religious belief in a cosmos governed by order rather than chaos or randomness. In the Joseon era, this assumption materialized as the ‘optimal universe’, a term also borrowed from D. Martin (2004, pp. 180–81), and served as an effective explanatory system for Confucian scholars to organize the ontological hierarchy as well as the social hierarchy. Just as traditional Roman philosophers such as Celsus, who attacked Christianity as superstition, saw morality as an important point of reference in the ontological hierarchy (Martin 2004, pp. 140–59), they understood the degree of cultivation to be the important factor in organizing the hierarchy. Therefore, it was even thought that virtuous Confucian elites, in a higher degree of cultivation, were placed on an ontological hierarchy higher than divine beings. Interestingly, it is an historical irony that the concept of unse, representing the optimal universe, also played a pivotal role in channeling the aspirations of people yearning for change in the late 19th century. In a broader context, I would like to argue that unse has served as a crucial symbol for interpreting Koreans’ experiential world through a cosmological lens, not only in shamanism but also throughout Korean religious history.

For the sake of convenience, I posit that the concept of unse represents a conceptual metaphor for the ‘optimal universe’, while the various spirits in the shamanic pantheon intervening in human affairs correspond to the ‘patronal universe’. While this distinction is typological, it provides insights into the nature of shamanic practices, which translate and interpret the domains of everyday experience through symbols and metaphors. In the following section, I will examine how these theoretical concepts, conveying different cosmologies, conflicted, negotiated, and amalgamated with each other while constructing the explanatory system of Korean shamanism.

3. A Brief History of Conflicts and Compromises Between the Two Cosmologies

As a conceptual metaphor representing the ‘optimal universe’, the concept of unse suggests that the workings of the cosmos and human destiny are objects of understanding and models to emulate, but never subjects for transformation. Hwang (2002, p. 16) explained the differences between Western determinism and Eastern views of destiny through the concept of unse. Citing the Jinxin chapter of Mencius, he elaborated on the significance and development of divination in the East as follows:

How fortunate it is to be able to know myeong (destiny). The reason divination has flourished so greatly in the East is precisely because of the belief that one can understand destiny. By understanding destiny in advance, one gains the conviction to derive wisdom sufficient to respond to it. This response does not involve supernatural supplication or magical acts of petition. Rather, after mastering the cosmic principles of the universe’s operations, one selects the most appropriate course of action based on the wisdom gained. Then, as Mencius stated, one does not engage in foolish actions, like standing under a collapsing wall. The Book of Changes is the pinnacle of Eastern wisdom rooted in this very notion (my translation).

According to the passage above, the true purpose of divination lies in knowing myeong (destiny) and mastering the cosmic principles governing the universe’s operation. Fortune-telling, as a religious practice corresponding to the conceptual metaphor of unse, is not a form of rigid fatalism but an active effort to gain wisdom for appropriate actions. However, he also raised concerns about the corruption of divination practices, which had degenerated from a tool for wisdom to mere magical or superstitious acts of petition. This demonstrates that the conceptual metaphor of unse, representing the ‘optimal universe’, is ideologically in conflict with the idea that spirits intervene in human affairs, which underpins shamanic practices.

Indeed, the hostility of Joseon-era Confucian scholars toward shamanism, which they labeled as eumsa (improper/licentious rites), exemplifies the conflict between the two cosmologies represented by unse and spirits’ intervention. This disdain for eumsa was rooted in the Confucian concept of ye (ritual propriety), which was understood not merely as superficial formalities but as principles essential for living in harmony with Cheolli (Heavenly Principle). Consequently, Joseon Confucian scholars regarded rituals as mechanisms for maintaining hierarchical social order and embodying the cosmology of Neo-Confucianism. For them, differentiating social classes and maintaining hierarchical order through rituals were critical for building a harmonious society. However, despite this hierarchical ritual system, ordinary people, women from noble households, and even members of the royal court practiced rituals led by shamans that defied these hierarchies. Such practices were seen as challenges to both social order and the Confucian worldview. As a result, shamans were expelled from the capital and classified among the lowest social classes.

Moreover, in the Joseon period, knowledge of saju-palja and the fortune-telling system based on divination references such as I-ching was limited to an elite minority due to its complexity and the scholarly competence required to comprehend its terminology and texts (Jo 2001, p. 68). Given these considerations, it is evident that the two distinct cosmologies corresponding to the conceptual metaphors of unse and ‘spirits’ were in conflict and contestation during the Joseon period. This tension is reproduced in contemporary Korean society by fortune-tellers called by the name of ‘yeoksurin’ (fortune-tellers who learn their divination technique through books such as Yijing) and shamans. One of my informants, Geumhwa, explained the difference between yeoksurin and shamans: “In my experience, many yeoksurin deny gut-rituals entirely… There are such people”. This differentiation between unse and ‘spirits’ is also reflected in a journal article on fortune-telling:

Rejecting acts that incite superstition is a commonality among these novice yeoksurin. Namgung Seok, for example, firmly asserts to his clients from the outset that “changing one’s destiny is impossible”. This means that charms or rituals cannot alter one’s destiny. Instead, he strives to teach clients the wisdom of ‘seizing good fortune and avoiding bad luck.’. He is highly critical of the indiscriminate misuse of charms or rituals by struggling fortune-tellers or shamans for fraudulent purposes, noting, I have never heard of a shaman’s children succeeding in life”, and argues that money dishonestly earned brings harm to future generations.

(December 31, Sisajournal 1998)

Namgung Seok’s assertion that “charms or rituals cannot change destiny” reflects a worldview in which life’s fortunes and misfortunes are predetermined. Divination serves only to understand one’s fate and respond appropriately, not to alter it through magical practices. This perspective echoes the criticism of Joseon Confucian scholars who dismissed shamanic practices as attributing life’s outcomes to spirits. It seems, then, that unse and shamanism—or the ‘optimal universe’ and the patronal universe’—are irreconcilable. In the meantime, considering the social sensitivity of shamans and their ability to strengthen their vocation through relationships with their communities, it has always been possible for the concept of unse, appropriated by the dominant group of a society, to permeate shamanic practices.

It is difficult to pinpoint exactly when the concept of unse became integrated into the Korean shamanic worldview centered on the relationship between spirits, humans, and the world. It is only suggested that this integration began long ago, not in recent times, as seen in the rebellion incidents during the Joseon Dynasty. Jo (2001, pp. 69–72) estimates that myeongnihak (a divination technique with reference to saju-palja) began to circulate among commoners around the 18th century. He supports this claim by indicating a notable increase in references to saju-palja in connection with rebellion incidents recorded in the annals of the Joseon Dynasty during this period. He also argues that belief in saju-palja, combined with geomantic theories, provided the ideological foundation for various uprisings, and the widespread occurrence of these incidents during this time demonstrates the popularization of saju-myeongni.2 While his analysis does not directly address how Confucian cosmology was introduced into shamanism and merged with its worldview, it allows us to infer that the popularized belief in saju-myeongni created a backdrop for the concept of unse to enter the shamanic worldview.

One notable case illustrating the integration of the unse concept into shamanic practices occurred during the reign of Sukjong in the 17th year of his reign (C.E. 1691). This was the ‘Mountain Ritual Incident (Heaven-Worshipping Rituals in Mountains),’ led by a shaman in Jae-ryeong, Hwanghae Province (now in North Korea), which involved rituals aimed at anticipating the arrival of a ‘living Buddha’. Choe Jongsung’s analysis of this event offers key insights into the union of the unse concept with shamanic practices. He highlights three characteristics of this incident: firstly, the participants upheld not only shamanic beliefs but also a strong faith in geomantic prophecies; secondly, they reinforced transformative discourse by linking faith in the ‘living Buddha’ with geomantic beliefs; lastly, this discourse was not limited to dissemination but was connected to ritual practices, specifically Cheon’gi Study or mountain rituals to heaven (Choe 2012, pp. 204–7).

While he uses these points to explain how faith in the ‘living Buddha’ was strengthened among the populace, my interest focuses particularly on the ritual practice of Cheon’gi Study. Choe (2012, p. 207) describes it as follows:

Cheon’gi Study is a compound term combining cheon’gi (天機), meaning the mysteries of heaven or the harmony of the cosmos, with gongbu (工夫), referring to the practical discipline of internalizing these cosmic ideals through physical and mental cultivation. Ultimately, this was a ritual practice aimed at anticipating the salvation represented by the living Buddha and materializing his presence. Specifically, Cheon’gi Study involved the devout preparation of offerings and the performance of mountain rituals to Heaven (祭天) as acts of ceremonial veneration. (my translation)

The concept of cheon’gi as the mysteries of heaven and cosmic harmony corresponds to the belief in a ‘well-ordered universe,’ which aligns with the ‘optimal universe’ represented by the conceptual metaphor of unse. While cheon’gi could be understood through divination and prophecy, the belief in the appearance of Maitreya at the right time and place presupposes a universe and human life governed by established order and destiny. In addition, records that shamans led mountain rituals to heaven to materialize the appearance of Maitreya at the right time and place provide clear evidence of the fact that the two distinct cosmologies were integrated.

This incident, later referred to as the ‘Execution of Cha Chung-geol,’ ended with the execution or exile of those involved. However, similar events anticipating the arrival of a living Buddha continued to be reported afterward. Choe (2012, p. 213) argues that the sequence of incidents anticipating the living Buddha established a foundation in which the belief in his immortality could re-emerge whenever conditions became favorable. While Choe’s analysis focuses on the messianic movements combining faith in the living Buddha with the unse concept and highlights shamans who abandoned their shamanship to follow the living Buddha, my interest lies in the practices of shamans who incorporated and fused differing cosmological concepts into their shamanship.

It is not possible to determine how shamans in the Joseon Dynasty attempted to negotiate between the two cosmologies. However, I believe that we can find clues to the ways in which they combine by inquiring into the practices of contemporary shamans. In the following section, I will describe how modern shamans used to treat the two distinct cosmologies in their practices.

4. A Mode of Integration I: Unse, Dealing with Ambivalent Feeling Among Clients

According to L. Kendall’s ethnographic study based on fieldwork conducted in the late 1970s, Koreans tend to have ambivalent feelings when consulting a shaman (Kendall 1985, p. 76). This ambivalence arises from the expectation that the shaman will inevitably recommend additional rituals which demand financial support after fortune-telling, leading clients to feel both suspicion and trust. From the shaman’s perspective, the accuracy of divination and the subsequent acceptance of additional rituals by the client represent a successful negotiation. However, negotiations can fail, and shamans can also determine that no further rituals are necessary. Such negotiations between shamans and clients, as documented over 40 years ago, continue in the present day.

One of my informants, a shaman named Dani, explained that her recommendations for gut or other rituals are based on a comprehensive consideration of the client’s unse and problems originating from spirits or ancestors. She told me, “even if the client has abundant financial resources, I would not recommend rituals if their un (fortune)3 does not align with them. Conversely, if the client has unfavorable fortune, they are unlikely to heed my advice, no matter how persuasive it is. However, if the client’s fortune aligns with the necessity of rituals, I feel compelled to explain their importance thoroughly”. Dani’s explanation of how reading and interpreting the client’s unse aids in negotiation is as follows:

Of course, even without studying myeongni, when a client comes, the spirits let me know what kind of problem they have. But there are times when I don’t fully understand why such a divination result emerges or why the spirits say what they do. I study saju primarily for my own satisfaction. Another reason is that these days, clients understand much better when I calmly explain, “Your unse is like this or that”, rather than just saying, “This is what the spirits told me”. This helps clients decide whether or not they need to proceed with rituals [such as gut or small-scale rituals]. Sure, I’m good at divination, but a shaman’s job is to explain things, after all.

(Interview with Dani, 12 January 2015, at her residence)

Although shamans can receive messages directly from spirits through personal experiences, they cannot communicate those experiences to clients without using a language the clients can understand. If the shaman fails to adequately explain the client’s issues in comprehensible terms, communication between the two parties breaks down. A shaman unable to communicate with clients or the community may fail to persuade the clients to sponsor rituals and ultimately lose confidence in their vocation. From this perspective, the first divination process called mugguri diagnosing the client’s problems can be defined as the most effective ritual for analyzing the explanatory system of shamanism. As Dani’s account illustrates, she explains the message sent by spirits using the more publicly familiar concept of unse.

The effectiveness of the conceptual metaphor unse in helping modern Koreans interpret their everyday experiences is well demonstrated by a survey conducted by Gallup Korea in 2009. In response to the question, “Do you believe a person’s destiny or fortune is predetermined, or do you think it is shaped by personal effort or ability?” 24% answered, “1. A person’s destiny or fortune is predetermined”, 62% chose, “2. A person’s destiny or fortune is shaped by personal effort or ability”, and 12% selected, “3. A combination of both”. In identical surveys conducted in 1994 and 1996, the proportions were 36.1%, 55.4%, and 1.1%, and 32.1%, 62%, and 3.8%, respectively (Gallup Korea 2011). These results indicate a gradual increase in the number of Koreans adopting a proactive view of life over a belief in fixed destiny, as well as a steady rise in those who believe in a combination of the two distinct attitudes.4

Despite the declining proportion, the survey results show that approximately one-third of Koreans remain familiar with the cosmological notion that destiny is determined by one’s saju. Additionally, an intriguing finding emerges when the survey examines the experience of consulting fortune-tellers. Among those who believe destiny is predetermined, 50% reported having consulted a fortune-teller, while 36% of those who believe destiny is shaped by effort also reported such experiences. This suggests that even those who consciously reject the notion of predetermined destiny still consult fortune-tellers, revealing the ingrained familiarity—perhaps unconscious—of concepts like destiny, saju, and unse within Korean society. This familiarity underlines the effectiveness of Dani’s use of the concept of unse to explain the message sent by spirits while giving a divination.

Moreover, it is well-known that the modern world, governed by physical laws, has relegated the intervention of supernatural entities to the realm of ‘superstition’. Claims by shamans, such as receiving guidance from spirits or delivering messages from them, are difficult to reconcile with modern worldviews. In this context, explaining a client’s suffering solely through the intervention of supernatural beings has its limits. As previously mentioned, a shaman’s mystical experiences must be explained in terms comprehensible to clients who lack firsthand experience with supernatural beings. This is where the concept of unse becomes relevant. As a conceptual metaphor appropriated by shamans, unse serves as a negotiated product between Western modernity and Korea’s traditional symbolic systems.

At his point, it should be noted that the concept of unse used by shamans exhibits some differences from the static and deterministic unse of the ‘optimal universe’. While the latter is more fixed and deterministic, the unse or fortune interpreted by shamans reflects a dynamic and changeable experience.

For example, if I say, “You have this kind of unse” or “Your fortune is like this”, it means that if the person makes efforts to act on it, things can work out. Take marriage fortune—if someone has a good chance of getting married at 26 or 27, but they don’t go out or meet people, that fortune might just pass them by. Similarly, people talk about the ‘sign of separation.’ But not everyone with such a sign ends up separating. Whether it’s good or bad fortune, if you don’t make efforts, it’s like having nothing at all.

(Dani, 11 April 2015, at Yaksuam Shrine)

A teacher I know once said this: Even a beggar at Seoul Station can have good fortune. At that time, the beggar might earn 10,000 won instead of 1000 won through begging. But no matter how much a beggar earns, there’s a limit, right?

(Kang Bosal, 11 April 2015, at Yaksuam Shrine)

As these accounts from Dani and Kang Bosal indicate, unse appears to be a predetermined part of human destiny, specifying when and what kind of fortune a person might encounter. However, their understanding of unse incorporates the notion that individual effort can influence life’s outcomes, often placing a greater emphasis on effort. This perspective aligns closely with the views of over 50% of Koreans in the Gallup survey who believe life is shaped by one’s efforts.

The key difference between these two groups lies in the scope of effort. Unlike modern individuals who totally reject supernatural intervention or destiny and trust only human effort, shamans like Dani and Kang Bosal emphasize the indispensable role of spirits’ assistance alongside human effort. The two shamans’ statements reflect how the explanatory system of shamanism integrates unse, spirits, and the individual’s autonomous effort, merging diverse worldviews in contemporary Korean society. Here, spirits are understood as entities capable of realizing the potential inherent in unse.

5. A Mode of Integration II: Spirits, Realizing the Potential

During the research for this study, I encountered two women in their 40s who visited Dani’s shrine. These two women were friends, and one of them had decided to hold a gosa (small-scale ritual) based on Dani’s divination. The woman, who decided to proceed with the ritual, accepted Dani’s divination that her adolescent son had the fortune of leaving home and that her husband was under the fortune of accidents. While I was unable to witness the divination session firsthand, I had the opportunity to accompany the woman to the bank when she went to withdraw money to place at Dani’s shrine. The following is part of the conversation that took place during that time:

Researcher: You must be quite worried about your adolescent son and your husband.

Woman: I’m okay because my husband’s problem is attributed to samjae (three disasters), and I was told it will get better after this period. My son’s issue is temporary, so I’m not too worried. You remember the friend who came with me earlier? She is in a worse situation than I am. She’s never had peace of mind since getting married. Earlier, the teacher [Dani] said that my friend doesn’t even need to perform gut because it wouldn’t benefit her. Instead, she was advised to pray at a temple or church. So, if a gosa can improve things for me, I feel like I’m in a better position.

The term samjae mentioned by the woman is a familiar concept for many Koreans. It refers to a cosmological concept used to describe a three-year period of hardship determined by one’s saju, forming part of the family metaphor associated with unse. The woman recalled her experiences with her son’s behavior and connected them to the explanation of samjae, confirming a correlation between the two. In other words, the cosmological explanatory system represented by samjae and unse allowed the woman to interpret and assign meaning to her past experiences.

As Dani has previously stated, she limits her recommendations for rituals such as unmaji-gut (rituals to welcome good fortune) or gosa to cases where divination predicts that fortune will come in a particular year depending on the client’s destiny. In other words, there is a belief that even spirits cannot intervene when a person lacks fortune. The belief that the assistance of spirits is needed to fully receive good fortune or block bad fortune, combined with the ritual practices that actualize this belief, provides a clear example of how two distinct cosmologies are integrated within the explanatory system of shamanism. This demonstrates that human destiny or unse is predetermined according to certain rules but holds value only as the potential. Realizing the potential requires the intervention of spirits.

Another case which illustrates the way to integrate two cosmological ideas is provided by Dani’s own ritual practice. For nearly 40 years, Dani has conducted jinjeok gut (rituals for spiritual renewal) every spring and fall. However, the jinjeok gut performed in the fall of 2022 and the spring of 2023 were special, because they were held for successfully receiving Dani’s predetermined daeun (great fortune).

They say misfortune comes with fortune. When fortune comes, bad energy follows as well. To properly welcome great fortune, the spirits must be treated with utmost respect. I might even need to sacrifice an ox next fall [2023]. When the weight of daeun feels as if the heavens are pressing on one’s shoulders, it can harm a person unless the spirits are properly honored.

(Interview with Dani, 21 March 2022)

Even when daeun arrives and unse seems favorable, there is a belief that spirits must be well-treated to ‘properly’ receive it. In other words, it is a belief that unse, representing the flow of fortune latent in one’s saju, is not automatically realized. This belief is also evident in the segment of ilwolmaji (welcoming the Heavenly Spirits) performed as the first stage of Dani’s jinjeok gut. Dani conveyed the spirits’ message as follows: “How can a lowly human expect to receive heaven’s fortune while sitting idly? Even offering an ox would not suffice. Such trivial offerings! Next fall, an ox must be sacrificed to receive the great fortune.” This message illustrates the relationship between unse and spirits, emphasizing that receiving fortune requires the intervention of spirits and proper ritual action.

The explanatory system in which the conceptual metaphors of unse and the spirits’ intervention are integrated addresses both perspectives of the Gallup poll question that I described in the previous section: “Do you believe a person’s destiny or fortune is predetermined, or do you think it is shaped by personal effort or ability?” While this structure does not align perfectly with the modernist ideal of an independent individual shaping their destiny, it fits an image of modernity where individuals use every possible means to alter their circumstances. This may represent a form of alternate modernity, transformed and adapted to Korean society after the importation of Western modernity.5

6. Conclusions

The initial questions that inspired this study are as follows: Is the dominant interpretive framework for Korean shamanism—centered on the discourse of ‘preserving and inheriting shamanic traditions’ and ‘recovering the original forms’—adequate for understanding the contemporary characteristics of shamanism? If Korean shamanism is not merely a remnant of traditional culture or a marker of premodernity but still functions as a meaningful religious worldview for modern Koreans, how does it work? In seeking answers to these questions, this study aimed to present the two cosmologies that constitute the explanatory system of shamanism. Specifically, it examined how practitioners of shamanism incorporate and integrate two distinct cosmologies—beliefs in the ‘optimal universe represented by the conceptual metaphor of unse and the ‘patronal universe’ represented by the presence of spirits—into the explanatory system of contemporary shamanic practices through both discursive and ritual practices.

The integration of these differing cosmologies by modern Korean shamans occurs through their interpretations of their ritual lives and daily experiences. However, the reinforcement of this explanatory system takes place through their interactions and negotiations with clients and patrons. Thus, this study did not limit its focus on the actors in shamanism to shamans alone but also considered clients and patrons as key participants in the subsequent rituals following divination. These interactions were analyzed as the product of exchanges between the two groups, resulting in the combination of the two distinct worldviews. It is important to understand this interaction as a continuous process. While this study analyzed the explanatory system of modern shamanism through cosmological metaphors, these metaphors should not be understood as part of a completed process. The spectrum of the shamanic worldview continues to expand, constantly responding to changes in the cultural contexts experienced by shamanic practitioners.

The breadth and continuity of this spectrum can be explained as follows: Unse can be interpreted as a conceptual metaphor rooted in Confucian tradition. That is, metaphors such as unmyeong (destiny), saju-palja, Yijing (Book of Changes), and Tojeong bigyeol (Tojeong’s Secrets of Divination), which are symbolically classified alongside unse, are emblematic of the broad interpretive capacity of the Confucian worldview.6 Although it is unclear when these conceptual metaphors were introduced into the shamanic worldview of Korea, there is ample reason to deduce that they were incorporated after Confucianism became a central worldview in Korean society. Considering that these metaphors have functioned as enduring symbolic elements in Korean shamanism since at least the Joseon era, and that they became popularized among the general population around the 18th century, it is plausible that shamans—characterized by their acute social sensitivity—appropriated these metaphors.

However, the concept of unse as understood and appropriated by the shamans introduced in this study does not fully embrace the belief in the ‘optimal universe.’ Instead, it is limited to its meaning as a potentiality, inherently necessitating the intervention of spirits. This phenomenon can be interpreted as the result of a compromise, occurring through the strong influence of another cosmology represented by the presence of spirits in the shaman pantheon and the intense experiences of shamans who are compelled to directly encounter these spirits. Despite this, the explanatory system of shamanism—combining the concepts of unse and spirits—has persuasiveness even for modern individuals who are unable to accept the intervention of supernatural entities. This suggests further research on the characteristics of Korean modernity.

If we consider B. Latour (1993)’s analysis of the process of ‘purification’, in which the world is segmented and severed from magical and traditional practices through modernization processes, the integration of these differing cosmologies in Korea might appear as a reflection of a society that has failed to modernize. However, this does not necessarily imply that Korea is not modernized. Rather, it suggests that the world experienced by modern Koreans may represent an alternate form of modernity. From this perspective, the characteristics of the explanatory system of the shamanic worldview in contemporary Korean society can be understood as one of the plural forms of modernity distinct from the conceptual reality of Western unilinear modernity.