The outcome of this week’s presidential elections in South Korea may still be unknown, but shaman Yang Su-bong says the winner came to her in visions years ago.
South Koreans go to the polls today to choose their next president, a snap vote triggered by ex-leader Yoon Suk-yeol’s disastrous declaration of martial law in December.
And for Yang, a traditional Korean mudang, it’s clear that liberal frontrunner Lee Jae-myung will emerge victorious — a prediction that chimes with all major opinion polls that put Lee well ahead in the presidential race.
Photo: AFP
The latest Gallup survey show 49 percent of respondents viewing Lee as the best candidate, while Kim Moon-soo, from the conservative People Power Party (PPP) was trailing on 35 percent.
“From the beginning, I’ve seen Lee Jae-myung becoming president,” Yang said at her office in the western port city of Incheon.
“I saw a presidential aura,” she explained, adding that she faced “criticism and even threats” for her prediction.
“But I can’t lie about what I see.”
Shamanism has shaped culture and belief on the Korean peninsula for centuries.
South Koreans still regularly turn to them for advice on everything from their love lives to important business decisions and cities, and the registrar of the country’s largest shamanic organization lists 300,000 practicing in the country.
But the folk religion has also come under the spotlight for all the wrong reasons — two presidential impeachments have been linked to undue influence allegedly wielded by shamans.
Former President Park Geun-hye was removed from office in 2017 in an influence-peddling scandal involving claims of, among other things, participation in shamanistic rituals.
Ousted ex-leader Yoon and his first lady Kim Keon-hee have also been accused of turning to sketchy shamans when making decisions — including, it is alleged, the fateful martial declaration.
‘INTENSE EMOTIONS’
Claims like that provoke an “intense emotional reaction” in South Korean society — in part because the country’s history is full of leaders led astray by unscrupulous spiritual advisors, said Lee Won-jae, a sociologist at South Korea’s KAIST university.
“When it comes to dramatizing politics, there’s nothing quite as effective as invoking shamanistic themes,” he said.
Mudang or shaman act as intermediaries between the world of spirits and everyday life.
Their elaborate “gut” ceremonies can be hours-long affairs, with cacophonic music, singing and prayers used to ward off evil spirits or hope for a good harvest.
Hit thrillers like last year’s Exhuma — which features a group of shamans fighting an ancient evil spirit — have piqued public interest.
And some shamans now even turn to social media to ply their craft, livestreaming on YouTube and offering advice over video calls.
Shaman Lee Dong-hyeon, who goes by Ohbangdoryeong — “guardian of the five directions” — says he was approached by politicians after predicting Yoon’s untimely fall three years ago.
“To become a truly great person, you must learn to carry burdens,” he said.
Yoon “lacks that destiny,” he said.
And “despite his age, he lacks judgment,” he said.
UNCOMFORTABLE TRUTHS
Ohbangdoryeong engages in “sword rituals” — licking the sharp blade of a knife in a bid to receive messages from deities.
He isn’t so sure that frontrunner Lee will help end South Korea’s political turmoil.
“Things will stabilize for two years, but then there will be bloodshed — political purges,” he darkly predicted.
Fellow shaman Hong Myeong-hui agreed that turbulent times could be ahead.
She said conservative contender Kim Moon-soo has a “quiet fire” in him.
But liberal Lee’s “energy is fast and consuming, like a wildfire in spring,” she said.
“His term will be stormy,” Hong said.
“Prophecy isn’t for pleasing people — it’s for truth. And truth can be uncomfortable.”
No matter if the predictions ring true, what is clear that the new president will have to helm South Korea through a period of economic turbulence, as the trade-dependent nation will be facing steep tariffs from the United States while struggling with sluggish demand at home.
Behind a car repair business on a nondescript Thai street are the cherished pets of a rising TikTok animal influencer: two lions and a 200-kilogram lion-tiger hybrid called “Big George.” Lion ownership is legal in Thailand, and Tharnuwarht Plengkemratch is an enthusiastic advocate, posting updates on his feline companions to nearly three million followers. “They’re playful and affectionate, just like dogs or cats,” he said from inside their cage complex at his home in the northern city of Chiang Mai. Thailand’s captive lion population has exploded in recent years, with nearly 500 registered in zoos, breeding farms, petting cafes and homes. Experts warn the
The unexpected collapse of the recall campaigns is being viewed through many lenses, most of them skewed and self-absorbed. The international media unsurprisingly focuses on what they perceive as the message that Taiwanese voters were sending in the failure of the mass recall, especially to China, the US and to friendly Western nations. This made some sense prior to early last month. One of the main arguments used by recall campaigners for recalling Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers was that they were too pro-China, and by extension not to be trusted with defending the nation. Also by extension, that argument could be
Aug. 4 to Aug. 10 When Coca-Cola finally pushed its way into Taiwan’s market in 1968, it allegedly vowed to wipe out its major domestic rival Hey Song within five years. But Hey Song, which began as a manual operation in a family cow shed in 1925, had proven its resilience, surviving numerous setbacks — including the loss of autonomy and nearly all its assets due to the Japanese colonial government’s wartime economic policy. By the 1960s, Hey Song had risen to the top of Taiwan’s beverage industry. This success was driven not only by president Chang Wen-chi’s
Last week, on the heels of the recall election that turned out so badly for Taiwan, came the news that US President Donald Trump had blocked the transit of President William Lai (賴清德) through the US on his way to Latin America. A few days later the international media reported that in June a scheduled visit by Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) for high level meetings was canceled by the US after China’s President Xi Jinping (習近平) asked Trump to curb US engagement with Taiwan during a June phone call. The cancellation of Lai’s transit was a gaudy
RSS