Ghost Catchers in Contemporary Korea
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초록
It is commonly assumed that belief in ghosts and modernity stand in an antithetical relationship to each other. An investigation of the practices of a number of male “ghost catchers” active in contemporary Korea shows that this assumption is problematic. This inquiry has been conducted not through fieldwork, but by studying a number of books published in recent years in which ghost catchers describe their activities and the mental world that forms the background to them. They present themselves as quite different from the shamans who traditionally have dealt with the spirit world, but in fact themselves have translated traditional patterns of thinking and behaviour in modern terms. The examination of the practices of these ghost catchers is followed by a brief discussion of the place of ghost beliefs in contemporary Korean society.
Abstract
It is commonly assumed that belief in ghosts and modernity stand in an antithetical relationship to each other. An investigation of the practices of a number of male “ghost catchers” active in contemporary Korea shows that this assumption is problematic. This inquiry has been conducted not through fieldwork, but by studying a number of books published in recent years in which ghost catchers describe their activities and the mental world that forms the background to them. They present themselves as quite different from the shamans who traditionally have dealt with the spirit world, but in fact themselves have translated traditional patterns of thinking and behaviour in modern terms. The examination of the practices of these ghost catchers is followed by a brief discussion of the place of ghost beliefs in contemporary Korean society.