Traditional and Contemporary Korean Popular Culture
Shamans , Nostalgias , and the IMF South Korean Popular Religion in Motion
BY LAUREL KENDALL
HONOLULU : UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI`I PRESS , 2009 206 PAGES , ISBN : 978-0824833435 , HARDBACK
Reviewed by Mary E . Connor
For thirty years , anthropologist Laurel Kendall has completed extensive fieldwork among Korean shamans . In Shamans , Nostalgias , and the IMF , Kendall skillfully examines the role of shamanism in contemporary Korea ’ s popular culture . Although many regard Shamanism as an anachronistic remnant of the past , the author explains how Korea ’ s oldest religion has adapted itself to changing circumstances , why it is thriving in South Korea , and how it plays a significant role in alleviating anxiety in the modern world .
In the past , shamans were treated as outcasts , but Kendall describes how they are now treated with greater respect and even elevated as national icons . She details performances of the kut . The kut is a ceremony where shamans have traditionally performed rituals in rural communities for securing good luck , curing a physical or mental illness , or pacifying a deceased spirit . Now the kut has been recalibrated to acquire wealth , improve social status , and respond to the anxieties created by fluctuations in the market economy of a highly urbanized industrial society .
Kendall describes at some length the impact of the 1997 Asian financial crisis , the resulting actions of the IMF ( International Monetary Fund ) that were seen as an act of national humiliation , and how this era impacted the world of the shaman . In describing the challenges of the shaman , she acknowledges that major economic and political events can be so all-encompassing as to render “ the gods mute and impotent — at least for a time ” and are beyond the shaman ’ s powers ( 150 ). Korean shamans are typically reluctant to divine beyond the fortunes of their client ’ s families . However , she notes that the kut , offerings to the gods , and “ exorcisms that expel ominous forces blunt the worst effects of a bad horoscope .”
Kendall should be commended for her extensive research , careful documentation , and clarity of writing . Her book is highly recommended for classes in Korean studies , comparative religion , and Asian studies . ■
MARY E . CONNOR taught United States History and Asian Studies for thirty-five years and now serves as President and Program Director of the Korea Academy for Educators , a non-profit organization that informs educators about Korean history and culture and the Korean-American experience . She is the author of Asia in Focus : The Koreas ( ABC- CLIO , 2009 ) and the recipient of the Peace Corps Association ’ s Global Educator Award and the Organization of American Historians Tachau Award . ure re
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