Shamans have existed in South Korea for centuries. They act as oracles who communicate with nature spirits, ancestors, and gods. In recent decades shamanism has been stigmatized but a new generation of young practitioners are using social media platforms to revive the tradition and introduce it to a new audience.
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00:00In a deep trance, this 29-year-old Korean shaman is performing a centuries-old ritual.
00:06Lee Kyung-hyun, who goes by a name meaning baby angel on social media,
00:10says she's been a shaman for six years.
00:12She uses songs, dance, and trance rituals intended to communicate with nature spirits, ancestors, and gods.
00:19For decades, Christian institutions have demonized such practices.
00:23And back in the 1970s, South Korea's dictatorship tried to stamp out shamanism altogether,
00:29saying shamans deluded the world.
00:31But Lee says recently, shamans have been practicing more openly.
00:35For Koreans, shamanism has a deep root.
00:39We've always thought it was an invisible, spiritual, and mysterious world.
00:46But now that there are more YouTube channels,
00:50we're able to get closer to it.
00:52And we're able to connect with people we didn't know before.
00:57Lee says social media has allowed her to attract a new generation to shamanism.
01:02She already has more than 300,000 followers.
01:05She says many young South Koreans are turning to shamans when faced with economic and social hardships.
01:27Many of Lee's clients are around her own age.
01:30Korean study scholars say young shamans can connect with younger believers on a more personal level.
01:53For many believers, shamans are like friends, someone they can turn to when they need advice.
01:58But opponents of the practice say shamans can easily prey on vulnerable people and commit fraud.
02:03And scholars say because there's been stigma around shamanism,
02:06it may cause people to hide their connections with shamans.
02:29Shamanism has been at the center of high-profile scandals in recent years.
02:33In 2017, the disgraced former president Park Geun-hye faced controversy over her connection to a shaman.
02:39But things might be changing.
02:41The supernatural film Exuma, about a shaman lifting a family curse,
02:44has been a box office hit in South Korea this year.
02:47And the country's culture ministry says shamanism remains an important and powerful part of the Korean character.
02:53As for the newest generation of shamans like Lee,
02:55they are determined to shake off stigmas and bring these ancient cultural practices into the modern age.
03:00Kama Hsu and Wesley Lewis for Taiwan Plus.