ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that culture contains internal contradictions in relation to shamanism, and that its conceptual constructions need to be reconsidered in anthropological discussions. The minibus even had a car phone and karaoke. The cultural discrepancy forms a big crevice created by the contradictory position of shamanism in Korean culture. Shamanism is the most powerful conceptual framework for dealing with the experience of misfortune in Korean culture, and most parts of the shamanic world seem to be related to the field of misfortune. The cultural paradox of Korean shamanism tells us that Korean culture cannot be discussed as a whole, since shamanism has a contradictory position in the Korean cultural system. The cultural discrepancy forms a big crevice created by the contradictory position of shamanism in Korean culture. But the discrepancy is not very clearly seen in some everyday situations.
