Transcription
Hello. I am Han Min, a psychologist specializing in endangered species, specifically the Tojeong Bunhwa. It's nice to meet you. Yes, I was actually a little hesitant about whether I should watch this or not, due to the title. It's K-pop, but it's called "Demon Hunters," and there was a bit of dissonance. However, after seeing the scene at the beginning where people, presumed to be shamans, were saving people's souls, I felt a chilling shock and watched the rest of it without taking a breath.
Why are shamans in K-pop the reason for girl groups?
Shamanism can be said to be the first religion. The religion of shamanism. And shamans were the priests of that religion. They were beings who bridged the gap between gods and humans, and who made requests to the gods on behalf of humans. Therefore, they would have been a class that presided over the ancestral rites held in ancient societies like Goguryeo and Buyeo. However, as foreign religions entered, and as foreign religions were used to strengthen royal power, the existing religions were gradually pushed out of the mainstream and descended into the folk realm, I believe.
The first things shamans did included, first and foremost, rituals. They had the role of praying for blessings. And another role, I believe, was consulting. Consulting means giving advice. Whether it was for the state or for a family, when they had to undertake an important project or a significant event, they would ask for advice, such as when it would be best to do it, or where it would be good to build a house. Shamans existed as beings to whom such questions were posed. They likely played a significant role in comforting people's hearts.
Added to this is the aspect of healing. So, they played a role in comforting and healing the physical and mental ailments and negative aspects of people. This was the most significant role of shamans in the past. And what is added here is dance, song, and music. In many cultures with shamanism, dance, song, and music are present to some extent, but there are few places as specialized, diversified, and developed as Korean shamanism. Furthermore, I believe Korea is unique in that the role of the shaman encompasses dance, song, storytelling, and acting.
Beings corresponding to shamans are found in various cultures, but the closest to Korean shamanism is said to be Vietnamese shamanism. In Vietnam, many shamans are women, and the rituals, such as the "gut," are quite similar. However, even in Vietnamese shamanism, there are separate people who perform the singing and storytelling. There, the musicians primarily sing and perform separately. But in Korea, the role of the shaman is very significant. Therefore, they were beings who healed people through dance and song. This part aligns with the role of the K-pop warriors in "K-pop Demon Hunters." Thus, I thought that the origin of Korean K-pop could also be found in shamanism.
Why are most Korean shamans women?
Korea has strong matriarchal characteristics. Compared to other societies, anthropologically, societies with matriarchal characteristics account for only about 10% of the total society. Even now, we are more comfortable with maternal aunts than paternal aunts, maternal relatives have more say, and women have retained their surnames even after marriage. Historically, we can see these matriarchal characteristics. Therefore, in prehistoric times, there existed societies ruled by a matriarch, or a female tribal chief, and there are even myths about this. There is a story from the Pyeongyang region, from a village called Gubim Village, about a tribe ruled by an elder grandmother named Mago. This tribe fought a war with the Dangun tribe, and the Dangun tribe won, which is why we are descendants of Dangun. There are stories like this. Therefore, before a certain period, there was a matriarchal society, and the shamans were the priests who were in charge of the rituals in that society.
Also, biologically, it is said that women have a more developed right brain hemisphere. The right brain hemisphere is responsible for emotions and intuition rather than logic. Therefore, since women are generally more sensitive to intuition and feelings, it is possible to explain this biologically as well, from a matriarchal genetic perspective.
Shamans who also perform dance and song are unique to Korea.
That part seems to be related to the rituals performed by Korean shamans, that is, the "gut." Korean "gut" are very long and have diverse processes, and they include many elements such as dance, song, storytelling, and acting. A "gut" is a process of asking the gods to grant human requests. A lot of food is prepared, and with various dances, songs, and music, the gods might grant human requests if they are pleased with the performance and music. Also, gods are often capricious. This is a characteristic found in many cultures; gods do not fundamentally think like humans. Therefore, to please these capricious gods, whose persuasion methods are unknown, Koreans created the "gut" ritual, which is a process of appeasing them. So, for three to four days, or even several days, they perform performances to please the gods, and since the shamans have to do all of this, the shamans' performance level and proficiency inevitably become very high.
How Korean "gut" are expressed in the movie.
All seven songs from "K-pop Demon Hunters" achieved great popularity, even reaching the Billboard charts. Except for the song that played when Lumi and Jinwoo were on a date, most of them are performance songs. These performances are very similar to "gut." Through these performances, using song and dance, they defeated evil spirits and healed people's hearts, uniting them. This was expressed through the symbolic image of "honmun" (a spiritual connection or bond). The process of healing people, defeating evil spirits, and creating "honmun" is very similar to the spirit and performance of "gut."
From a Western perspective, "Demon Hunters" would aim to annihilate all evil spirits. Of course, they did cut down and annihilate lower-level demons like "gwi" with swords, but the character Jinwoo was not annihilated. Jinwoo sacrificed himself for Lumi, and Jinwoo's soul entered the sword that Lumi possessed, so in a way, Lumi and Jinwoo became one. This aspect is similar to the methods used in shamanism in the past to defeat evil spirits or solve problems. Korean shamans do not exorcise ghosts. They do not exorcise or annihilate them. They use the expression "to appease and send them away." Therefore, rather than the annihilation of what could be called an enemy or a problem, seeking reconciliation or coexistence can be seen as the spirit of Korean shamanism.
The popularity of Korean accessories is thanks to K-pop.
In the movie, the "gat" (traditional Korean hat) worn by the character Kachi, or rather, the character named Seo, gained immense popularity. In fact, the "gat" started to become a major topic of discussion a few years ago with the drama "Kingdom," a Joseon zombie story. This is because the sight of the "gat" and the flowing "dopo" (traditional robe) is very impressive. Foreigners became curious, asking "What is that?" and began to take an interest in the "gat." In fact, interest in the "gat" dates back to Europeans in the late Joseon Dynasty. Records from that time mention that when they came to Korea, they saw people wearing "gat" and described them as having many varieties and being very stylish. There is even a story of a French diplomat who told Napoleon about it, and Napoleon reportedly said it sounded interesting and that he wanted to go see it.
But why did Koreans wear "gat" so much and consider them important? The Joseon Dynasty was actually a period of considerable frugality compared to the Goryeo Dynasty or the Three Kingdoms period, due to Confucian principles. Nevertheless, Koreans are people who highly value self-expression and style. Therefore, the "gat" became the point where they could express their style to the fullest. Moreover, the decorations on the "gat" are very diverse. The "gakkeun" (hatband) that appeared in the movie—I personally didn't realize until then that a "gakkeun" could be part of such a sexy performance. Also, there are various decorations on the "gat." There is a part called "okro" on the top of the lid, which is a white crane made of jade. They would attach such decorations. And they would also decorate the front with jade, like the "beongeoji" worn by warriors. This indicated social status and reflected personal taste, making it an item for personal style. This shows that Koreans were people who paid attention to self-expression and style, even in the past.
Although "gat" were primarily worn by scholars, headwear items in general, regardless of class or status, were worn by everyone, men and women alike. High-ranking women expressed themselves through elaborate hairstyles called "gache" (wigs) and decorations like "okjam" (jade hairpins). The tendency for Koreans to enjoy decorating themselves is still evident today. If you look at Korean bags, they are often adorned with many dolls or keychains. And during the COVID-19 pandemic, people attached various shiny things, beads, and ornaments to their mask straps. These are expressions of the desire for self-expression. Foreigners often observe that while Koreans might wear relatively muted colors for their clothing, their detailed accessories are very diverse.
The reason why shamanism is uniquely developed in Korea.
The reason why phenomena related to shamanism and shamans appear to be so active in Korea is that shamanism is a form of faith that Koreans have held for thousands of years. However, in countries that the world observes, such as Europe or the United States, or so-called developed countries, this phenomenon does not exist. Therefore, we ourselves think of it as a very Korean phenomenon, and the world also views it with great curiosity.
Furthermore, when foreign religions enter a country, they undergo "spotting," meaning localization. In Korea's case, when religions like Buddhism, Christianity, and Protestantism entered, they took on a significantly Koreanized form rather than their original transmitted appearance. Therefore, I believe that even if they had been transmitted earlier, they would have changed into a Koreanized form, and the shamanistic aspects would have remained.
I personally hold the view that even phenomena like divine intervention or religious experiences can be explained scientifically. As humans have evolved on Earth for millions of years, there are still many experiences that cannot be explained by science and reason. These are often materialized at the level of the collective unconscious. We have historically created symbols, concepts, beliefs, and systems that say, "We consider these events to be the work of a god." I believe that those who experience these are shamans.
From the perspective of a cultural psychologist, I explain this in terms of cultural functions. The divine interventions and many events that occur during "gut" rituals actually have significant psychological effects. For example, in a "chiyonggut" (a ritual to ward off evil spirits), from the perspective of the patient who directly experiences it, their problem is clearly conceptualized and materialized through the shaman's "gut." By confirming this, they can feel a sense of relief, as if their problem has been solved. I believe these psychological effects are very significant.
The reason why shamanism continues to be persecuted.
It is true that shamanism has been continuously persecuted since it was demoted from its status as a mainstream religion. Also, during the Japanese colonial period and especially in the early modern era, it was a time of rapid societal change. Korean society largely set its direction towards civilization, reason, and rationality. Therefore, tradition, and anything that appeared irrational or unreasonable, became objects of rejection. A similar event occurred in Europe around the 17th century: the witch hunts. The peak of the witch hunts was in the 17th century. We usually think of witch hunts as something that happened when people in the Middle Ages were ignorant and uninformed. However, the fact that witch hunts were rampant during a time when reason was being discovered and society was becoming highly rationalized has significance. It implies that in our era of reason and rationality, things like boiling herbs to treat people or claiming to hear the voice of God were defined as uncivilized and irrational.
Something similar happened to us. Therefore, for a very long time, shamans were oppressed, and their places of worship were destroyed. Despite this, they survived and have now entered a period where shamanism is becoming very active due to the recent atmosphere.
This is all I have prepared regarding "K-pop Demon Hunters." Thank you. If you found this video informative, please subscribe to K-nen's Speech, like it, and turn on notifications.