ABSTRACT
The perception that shamanism forms the cultural core of Korea stems largely from Ch’oe Namsŏn and Yi Nŭnghwa’s efforts in the 1920s as part of the cultural nationalist movement, and the subsequent activities of folklorists, to find icons of identity that would mark Korea as distinct from its neighbours, Japan as colonial ruler and China as the progenitor of Confucian orthodoxy. It has become a virtual testament of faith that shamanism emerged during the Bronze Age, some 2,500 years ago. In 1987, Kim Yŏlgyu wrote:
Shamanism is gradually disappearing from Korea, but our shaman consciousness is not easily lost. The consciousness may remain with Koreans forever, because it once gave meaning to our lives (1987: 168–9).
