Korean Folk Magic Masterpost
What aspects of the culture influence it? What defines it from other folk magic? - queerlittlemermaid
Since this is a korean folk magic post, of course korean culture is 100% included within it. You canāt take out korean from korean folk magic. If someone did, theyād have some shade of a torn up bramble. Growing up, the most prevalent culture influence was ancestor veneration (as is pretty typical through China, Korea and Japan) but also traditional medicine. My mother often (and still does, though she doesnāt view it as magic I find it to be a pretty important aspect of our folk magic) dries herbs on newspaper and then grinds it to a powder, minces it, or keeps it whole to add into tea or food. The side effects to a specific herb (e.g. ginseng boosts energy levels) are the main thing to keep in mind. The practice actually worksĀ alongsideĀ spiritual reasoning. The active ingredients in ginseng helps to influence blood pressure and insulin production, and increase metabolism. As for the spiritual reasoning, ginseng boosts energy because it isĀ said to affect the Gi (źø°) and is used to treat a āyangā deficiency in the spleen and kidney.Ā
I would say what really defines it from other folk magic Iāve seen is that buddhist/taoist religious views are integrated into cultural views, so youād probably see a bit about źø° and keeping that in balance. And to do that, one would need to eat something that would help your ailment both physicallyĀ andĀ spiritually.
What differences does it have from European folk magic?Ā - queerlittlemermaid
Korean folk magic has a very animist worldview. So, like the Cunning Folk and rootworkers, prayers has its place. Except we prayed to Korean gods (some of which absorbed Buddhas and Bodhisattvas), even Jesus and deities not from the local folklore were included. It is believed that each stone, plant and animal has a spirit. If your life has recently turned to shit, we didnāt think someone would have cursed you (since it was somewhat uncommon). Instead we would use divination to see if it was a spirit that was upset at you causing your troubles to run amok. 80% of the time, itās because of a spirit. It could be your recently deceased great aunt because she thought she didnāt have a grand enough ceremony for her passing. It could be the roadkill because you didnāt try to *not* run its body over - and if you didnāt have the space on the road to avoid it, the least you could have done is sent it a quick prayer of āSorry that happenedā. Our whole life is filled with our ancestors and other spirits that can help or hinder our day to day.Ā
I would say the main difference Iāve seen is that we would listen to our clientsā problems, figure out if thereās an herbal medicine that we can give them, if we canāt then we will divine if the reason for the problem is because of a spirit. If it IS because of a spirit, we will placate it to leave the client alone. If it isnāt (possibly due to a curse), then we would purify the client and draw them up a ė¶ģ Ā (bujeok - a drawn/written talisman typically on white or yellow paper with red ink. It is said that bad spirits are scared of the color red and even repelled by it) to keep them safe. Whereas Cunningfolk seem to have a lot of saints being called upon, a cleansing would ensue, tobacco smoke seems pretty important, and non-edible items as charms to keep around. And candles, obviously. Just as a really general comparison.
What is commonly used?Ā - queerlittlemermaid
In traditional medicine, thereās a lot of herbs being used, mostly for teas and powders to add to food. For instance, my mother recently made a dried batch of ėė¼ģ§ (doraji, Korean bellflower) roots and ground it up into a fine powder. Itās meant to clear the mucous built up in your lungs from a cold and helps a lot with getting rid of coughs. It is, however, pretty bitter so you only want to add a teaspoon to whatever it is youāre drinking (I would highly advise to start with a pinch and go from there). ź³ ģ¶ (gochu, chili pepper powder) is another very important and often used spice. Ginger and ginseng as well (both are very different with different uses). Another important aspect is FOOD. There are ALWAYS side dishes with the main meal (as is typical of a Korean home) and each meal has a āuseā. For example, hangovers are said to be cured by eating ģ½©ėė¬¼źµ (kongnamulguk, soybean sprout soup). If youāre feeling like youāre coming down with a cold (as you can see thereās a lot of ways to combat the cold in a typical Korean home - this is because the climate in Korea can be cold throughout the year, the climate usually being 19Ā F to 86Ā F), you can whip up some ģ¼ź³ķ (ginseng chicken soup). On a sidenote, itās a very common belief that if you have a fever, you āneed to burn it out of youā with very spicy food and ginger tea. ė¶ģ are also used pretty often, as are other talismans.
SO, in summation, herbs to put into teas and food is most prevalent in korean folk magic to heal and the placation and bribery of spirits and gods to help us get what we want.
What is traditional korean magic look like? - Anon
This question is phrased a bit awkwardly, so hopefully Iām understanding Anon correctly. Traditionally, during a ritual (for example, ģ ģ¬ jesa, a ritual or ceremony for venerating oneās ancestors) there will be a pattern of a bunch of fruits, side dishes, rice, ė” (tteok, rice cakes) and ģģ£¼ (soju, korean vodka). There is usually a specific way to do this, depending on the family. All the rituals tend to follow a specific format unless your parents tend to be nontraditional (like my mother) and in that circumstance, the formats are often different from what youād typically see. Itās also very common for the father and eldest son to take care of specific rituals like ģ ģ¬ since it was a duty to the family and the familyās ancestors, which usually fell to the man (since Confucianism had quite an effect on Korean society). There will always be candles (typically white to refer to spirits), incense (usually stuck straight up in a bronze urn or bowl), food as offerings (which are eaten by the humans that attended after the ritual because it strengthens the bond between ancestors and the living family). If youāre not referring to specific rituals, on a daily basis, it kind of looks like this: herbs drying on newspaper around the kitchen, containers of whole and minced and powdered herbs and roots, aloe and ginger pots, ė¶ģ around the house, ģ„ģ¹ (jangseung, guardian totem poles) around the yard, ķ (tal, traditional masks for luck) on a wall. Sometimes, (I know Iām going to have these in my home regardless) a ķ“ķ (haetae, the Korean version of a Foo dog) statue in the home or in the yard to protect from wrong-doers and fire, jade to ensure longevity, prosperity and health. A bunch of different teas. A bunch of candles and incense.Ā
What would you call a person who uses Korean folk magic? - Anon
I would typically call them ė§ė
(manyeo, witch) or ģ£¼ģ ģ¬ (jusulsa, folk magic practitioner). Folk magic itself is called ģ£¼ģ or ė§ė². We incorporate muism, sometimes daoism, buddhism (and whatever deities we actively worship) but are not ė¬“ė¹ (mudang, Korean shaman). When a ė§ė
is initiated, I would probably call them ė§ģ (manshin) instead, as ė¬“ė¹ refers to old school Korean shaman traditions and still harbors negative connotations in Korea and in Korean communities in the US. ė§ģ essentially means ten thousand spirits which refers to the shamanās ability to be possessed and speak to spirits and acts as a mediary for the humans and spirits. Itās a newer term for ė¬“ė¹ without the negative connotations and because of this, I personally feel it has the ability to incorporate more than muism alone, but incorporates the folk magic aspect better than under the ė¬“ė¹ umbrella as well. Then again, some may simply prefer to be called ė§ė
still.
Where can one learn more about Korean Folk Magic? - Anon
Specifically from a Korean who works with such. :) Itās not really a wide spread or known practice like hoodoo, itās not really published about, itās not really talked about. Because of the colonialism from the US into South Korea, during recent years (I want to say in the last couple decades) they have been denouncing muism as illogical and āprimitiveā. Itās only in the last few years that muism has seen a rise in popularity, generally amongst politicians because a mudangās performances are VERY expensive to pay for all of the offerings and such (weāre talking hundreds of thousands of dollars, US-wise) but theyāre also popular with teenagers for fortune telling. The colonialism also made Korea one of the top countries to convert to Christianity, and of course the priests and preachers absolutely condemn the traditions.Ā
However, traditional medicine can typically be learned anywhere in books or online. Fairly easy to find, more often than not youāll read about Chinese Traditional Medicine, and while there are similarities, Korean Traditional Medicine still has some unique techniques.
And obviously, Iāll be open to questions.
Do you know of any books that cover Korean Folk Magic? And it doesnāt bother you if a non-korean learns Korean Folk Magic?Ā - Anon
There are some books that cover mudangs and Korean shamanism (which is a closed, initiatory tradition). As far as I know, there are no books that cover korean folk magic in all that it entails (e.g. how muism beliefs, traditional medicine, and spirits all tie in together to make rituals and spells).
To be honest, I would feel very upset if someone were to attempt to learn korean folk magic from someone whoĀ isnātĀ korean. I mean, this is my whole life. Itās intrinsically tied to how I grew up and is submersed in my culture. My culture is one of the reasons I was bullied and picked on by my white peers in school for as long as I can remember (āKorea isnāt even a real placeā - 3rd grade. āI thought Koreans all had perfect skin and looked gorgeous? Are you sure youāre Korean?ā - high school.Ā ā-pulls eyes back to ālook asianā- Itās just a joke!ā - elementary, grade, middle, high school AND after. et al)
Just like how some black people feel that non-blacks wonāt really āgetā vodou (and hoodoo, etc). Itās because we grew up around it, constantly surrounded. Itās not something to pick up and learn for fun or just because youāre curious. Itās literally our life.Ā Iām sorry, I just have a lot of feelings about this kind of shit since Iām still working through my internalized racism.
If someone were learning the language and culture and our history, then I wouldnāt mind if they wanted to learn korean folk magic from a practitioner as well. To me, it already is a part of the word ācultureā, specificallyĀ my culture. So if you wanted to learn korean folk magic, but werenāt interested in our language or history, Iām going to tell you that there is nothing I can do for you. If you wanted to learn korean folk magic but not from a korean practitioner, it isnāt going to be korean folk magic. Iād also take a long hard look at why you specifically want to learn korean folk magic. Itās not really open, it would be very difficult to find a teacher, etc etc.
*Disclaimer: This is how it was practiced in my home with some of it being taught from my ancestors. Not every Koreanās home had folk magic in it (and if it did, itās highly probable it wouldnāt look to be the same because it depends on the family), but the aspect of traditional medicine is still very prevalent.
**If I get more questions sent in, Iāll edit this post accordingly.
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