Over 300,000 shamans in Korea: A community invisible to the government

A sharman prays at a shrine in Daegwallyeong, Gangwon Province in September. Korea Times photo by Son Young-ha

In 2007, the New York Times reported that there are 300,000 shamans in Korea, or roughly one for every 160 people, highlighting a resurgence of shamanism in a country renowned for its cutting-edge technology.

The source of this figure was cited as the Korea Worshipers Association, which was likely referring to the country's largest shamanic organization, the Korean Kyungsin Federation (Gyeongcheon Shinmyeonghoe). The group continues to assert that there are indeed 300,000 shamans in Korea.

This would mean that there are more shamans than police officers (around 130,000) or elementary school teachers (about 190,000).

However, the problem is that there is no concrete way to verify this widely reported figure of 300,000 shamans. Not only does the government lack any official statistics on the shaman population, but there is also no formal survey to document the scale of this community.

Shamans in Korea are paradoxically both everywhere and nowhere. While their fortune-telling shops are visible across cities, and shamanic rituals appear on social media and television, the government treats them as if they don’t exist.

There is no system in place to manage their activities, and the government has yet to define any formal criteria for recognizing shamanism.

Shamans offer a ritual in Daegwallyeong, Gangwon Province in September. Korea Times photo by Ha Sang-yoon

No business registration

The number of shamans can be roughly estimated through data from the National Statistical Office’s annual survey on private enterprises. In 2022, there were 9,391 businesses categorized under “fortune-telling and related services,” with 10,194 people employed. This number is significantly lower than the 300,000 claimed by shamanic associations.

Moreover, a substantial number of shamans operate without registering their businesses with the National Tax Service, making it difficult to gauge the actual size of the industry.

In a survey conducted by the Hankook Ilbo among 129 shamans, 61 percent admitted to not having business registrations. Unlike restaurant owners or hotel operators, shamans are not required to register their businesses with local governments, which can lead to tax evasion.

An official from the National Tax Service said, "Most fortune tellers are exempt from taxes because they are considered small-scale operators. However, some high-earning shamans should be paying taxes, and those individuals are likely registered."

But the shamans themselves tell a different story. One shaman in Seoul’s Nonhyeon District said, "I see about 10 clients a day and make around 30 million won ($23,000) a month. I’m not envious of doctors or lawyers’ salaries," but added, "I don’t have a business registration."

Not only fortune-telling shops but also ritual halls and prayer spaces operate in a gray area. In August, when a Hankook Ilbo reporter visited a ritual hall in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, to request an interview, the owner responded, "If this gets published, I’ll have to start paying taxes, right?"

In places like Seoul’s Mount Inwang, some shamans occupy national forest land, charging clients to use their prayer spaces. An official from the Seoul National Forest Office said, "In principle, national forests should be used for public or conservation purposes, so prayer spaces like these are not permitted. We will issue rectification orders or fines if we detect unauthorized facilities."

Religious recognition vs government silence

There is also no clear government stance on how to classify shamanism. Lee Seong-jae, director of Gyeongcheon Shinmyeonghoe, said that shamanism (moosok in Korean) had been recognized as a religion, citing its 2019 membership in the Korean Federation of National Religions, which falls under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. This federation includes 12 organizations, including Cheondoism and Won Buddhism among others.

However, the government maintains that it does not have a formal process for recognizing any specific religion due to the constitutional principle of separating church and state. A Ministry of Culture representative said, "While the Federation of National Religions is a legal entity authorized by the Ministry, this does not mean the government has granted formal recognition of any religion. Membership is decided by the federation’s own bylaws and procedures."

In essence, the government refrains from deciding what constitutes a “legitimate religion,” but it does treat established religions like Buddhism, Christianity and Catholicism differently from shamanism, particularly in terms of financial support.

The culture ministry has several programs aimed at supporting major religions. "Many of our programs target established religions like Buddhism, Christianity and Catholicism," the ministry official explained, adding, "Among national religions, only Cheondoism and Won Buddhism receive government support."

Shamanism, on the other hand, was notably absent from the ministry's 2018 report on the religious landscape in Korea.

Bin Soon-ae, Intangible Cultural Heritage holder of the Gangneung Danoje ritual, says that shamans dedicated to traditional rituals face financial challenges. Korea Times photo by Ha Sang-yoon

Shamanic rituals as religious acts

Korean courts sometimes treat shamanic rituals as legitimate religious activities. In June, the Suwon District Court acquitted a shaman accused of fraud for taking 31.8 million won to perform a ritual to secure early parole for the client’s incarcerated daughter.

The court ruled, "It cannot be definitively said that the ritual exceeded the boundaries of traditional customs or religious practices."

Although shamanism is officially recognized as cultural heritage, the support for shamanic practices is limited. The National Heritage Administration currently designates 12 shamanic rituals as intangible cultural heritage. Practitioners of these traditions, also known as bearers of intangible heritage (formerly human cultural assets), receive 2 million won a month, while transmission educators receive 900,000 won.

However, this recognition only extends to a small fraction of the larger shamanic community. Of the shamanic traditions recognized by the government, only three practitioners also make a living as professional shamans.

Bin Soon-ae, the 65-year-old head of the Gangneung Danoje Preservation Society, said, "While teaching and preserving the Gangneung Danoje ritual is my main work, I still take on clients when there’s no festival work. The income difference is stark. Shamans who focus on traditional rituals struggle financially unless they have cultural events or performances."

Cho Seong-je, head of the Mucheon Cultural Research Institute and an expert in shamanism, criticized the government’s approach. "The government is pushing shamans out of the mainstream while simultaneously recognizing some of their practices as cultural heritage," Cho said. "There needs to be a basic fact-finding investigation to properly manage and study shamanism."

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.