PEOPLE AND CULTURE - Living Abroad in South Korea - page 40

targeted abuse or harassment. This is less an indication of tolerance, however, than the inab-
ility of many South Koreans to believe that homosexuality exists in their country. Same-sex
relations have become something of a hot topic with the emergence of openly gay celebrit-
ies such as Hong Seok-cheon, but this has yet to translate into widespread sympathy for
gays or any kind of cohesive movements for gay rights.
What does pass for a gay scene in South Korea is concentrated around a few small but
very vibrant club districts in Seoul and Busan, where gays will find no shortage of curious
local (and foreign) men and women to mingle with.
Religion
Religions have swept over South Korea at various times much like a succession of waves
crashing on a shore, resulting in a polyglot land where people practice a healthy variety
of faiths (and sometimes a couple of different ones at once). Traditionally a tolerant place
when it comes to matters of the spirit, South Korea guarantees freedom of religion in its
constitution, and the country has managed largely to avoid the religious conflicts and divi-
sions that have caused so much suffering in other parts of the world.
SHAMANISM
Shamanism has been practiced in Korea since prehistoric times, and there is evidence of
links to similar rituals throughout Siberia, Mongolia, and northern China. Less a religion
than an amalgamation of folk beliefs and rites, shamanism seeks to appease or enlist the
help of the spirit world through human, usually female, mediums known in Korea as mu-
dang. Mediums can either inherit their powers or receive a “call” that bonds them to the
spirit world and is impossible to ignore.
For centuries shamanism was derided and even actively oppressed by leaders who saw
it as nonsensical or primitive, but it has enjoyed something of a resurgence recently and
is now recognized as a legitimate part of the country's cultural heritage. While few South
Koreans would call themselves shamanists, shamanist shrines are found in temples and on
mountains around the peninsula, and mudang are regularly called on to perform ceremonies
to bring prosperity to a town or business, or to soothe the spirits of the dead. These events,
known as gut, typically involve singing, dancing and elaborate costumes. The medium usu-
ally falls into a trance in which she speaks with the spirits and passes on the requests or
wishes of the people assembled.