[WHY] Dancing on knives: How shamans give Koreans what they need

[Kim JU-YEON] (전략) Korea’s historically hyper-competitive society with high expectations has long made fortune-telling practices, such as saju (the four pillars of destiny), tarot and gwansang (physiognomy) -- both of which a shaman might also utilize -- a popular pastime to alleviate uncertainty. Over 40 percent of respondents to a Hankook Research survey said they had consulted a fortune-teller between 2017 and 2022. 

Clients usually come in the lead-up to consequential events in their lives, such as when they’re taking exams, considering marriage or changing jobs, shamans say. 

But unlike other fortune tellers, shamans also claim to have the power to alter, or actualize, the client’s fortune through divine intervention, according to Kim Dong-kyu, a researcher at the Academic Center for K-Religions at Sogang University. (후략)

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