Kim, Nahyung
Paper Title: Reanimating the Indigenous: Representation of Korean Shamanic Music and Dance in the Digital Media Culture
Three female shamans sing and dance to expel evil spirits; Like Sony Pictures’ K-Pop Demon Hunters, digital content incorporating Korean shamanistic elements has been noticeably increasing. Following the success of this work, shamanism has been reinterpreted as something cool and trendy, gaining popularity and attracting public attention. How is Korean shamanism being reanimated in digital media? What significance does revive and reproducing indigenous, traditional heritage from the past hold in today's digital, technologically advanced era? How should we view and interpret this? These are the key questions of this research. Historically, shamanism has long formed the foundation of Korea’s indigenous belief system and cultural identity. Korean shamans sing and dance to the rhythms of Korean shamanic music to drive away evil spirits. They sometimes recall spiritual beings, ghosts, and souls to comfort them, appeasing both the living and the dead in acts of healing. Though shamanism culture once suppressed, it has simultaneously been regarded as something to be preserved. Today, many shamanic rituals (gut) are designated as National Intangible Cultural Heritage. However, the representation of shamanism in the digital media is not merely an act of restoration or preservation. Instead, indigenous elements are transformed through technological imagery, sound, and the language of narrative, while shamanic music/song, and dance are reinterpreted and recontextualized within entirely new visual and auditory frameworks. Based on ethnographic approaches and some experiences of Korean shamanic rituals, this study critically examines how shamanism has been represented and perceived in both past and contemporary Korean society—particularly within digital media—and contributes to a deeper understanding of indigeneity and shamanic practice not as static aesthetic objects, but as ongoing, living forms of community practice.