Divination was a significant part of daily life in old Korea. For some, it still is. We predict you’ll get something out of this episode.
Media suggestions: horror movies with fortune tellers –
The Dead Zone
Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors
Don’t Look Now
The Psychic
Nightmare Alley (original and remake)
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Credits
Produced by Joe McPherson, Shawn Morrissey, and Mia Roncati
Music by Soraksan
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Notes
Divination was a significant, daily part of old Korea (same in most cultures); still prominent for many modern Koreans; saju remains popular
Famous/legendary diviners
- Yi Ji-ham (mid-16th century scholar)
- Wrote Tojeong Bigyeol (Divinatory Secrets of Tojeong)
- Used for New Years fortune-telling
- Similar to I Ching – readers choose three trigrams, create combination
- Combination corresponds to entry in book (type of paja-jeom/glyphomancy)
- Entry reads fortune
- Process repeated once a month
- Legends surround Yi and family
- Daughter’s tale shared on Patreon, now made public!
- Wonhyo
- Beloved legendary Silla monk (7th century)
- Foresaw landslide in China, used powers to save 1000 monks
- Supernatural monk tales (including divination) called goseung-jeonseol (see: Divine Monks & Shapeshifters episode)
- Muhak
- Advisor to King Taejo (Yi Seong-gye)
- Allegedly advised Gwanghwamun (not necessarily Geunjeong-jeon) to face east to bring long fortune to Yi dynasty (i.e. 1000 years); not doing so would lead to shorter kingdom (i.e. 500 years)
- Samyeong-dang (aka Yoojeong)
- Buddhist monk
- Predicted Imjin War
- Built ten temples in Samgak-san divined to be linked to kingdom’s prosperity; we visit one on Seoul Hike
- Jeong Yak-yong
- Joseon philosopher (19th century)
- Wrote many books on divination
- Folktale type specifically focused on divining called jeombok-dam
- Tales often focus on importance of following divinations, highlighting belief
- Blind fortune teller motif
- Tales often include blind fortune-tellers; widely found ‘inner sight’ characters, though able to see the dead and communicate with divine beings
- Tale included in comic (‘The Truly Blind’), often transmitted as Hong Gye-gwan, sometimes not
In old society
- Discussed in various past episodes
- Pungsu-jiri (geomancy; linked to feng shui)
- Important for divining auspicious locations (i.e. Seoul itself, including Blue House, homes, tombs, etc)
- Gwangsang-gam (Office for the Observance of Natural Phenomena)
- Government office employing soothsayers (still recruited through civil exams)
- Suggested many employees were blind (may not be true)
- Fortune tellers and shamans widely sought for counsel
- ‘Monthly divination’ important (dal-puri)
- Soy beans put into well; removed next morning; if beans are swollen or not determined rainfall that month (specifically called kong-jeom)
- Some signs used in common divination
- Sun
- Circle appearing around sun foretells major national misfortune
- Moon
- Clouds covering moon rising over horizon foretell great disaster
- Rain
- Rain on Chuseok foretells poor barley harvest
- Rain on day of one’s death foretells rain on every death anniversary
- Snow
- Yellowish snow on New Year’s day foretells bountiful harvest
- Rainbow
- Rainbow over well is sign of divinity
- From the sky
- Meteor falling into sea foretells of poor catch
- Cows
- First food cow eats on New Year’s day foretells good harvest of that food
- Chickens
- Roosters crowing in trees foretell drought
- Crows/magpies
- Crow cawing at night foretells disease/epidemic
- Magpies cawing very early in morning foretells good fortune
- Spiders
- Spider descending from ceiling in morning foretells good fortune; descending from night foretells bad fortune
- Butterflies
- Seeing a while butterfly in early spring foretells death of a parent
- Owls
- Owls hooting near home foretell tigers roaming nearby
- Trees
- Trees dying near a shrine foretell misfortune
- A pine tree dying foretells national misfortune (red pines very important to Korean lore)
- Dreams
- Dreaming of rainstorms foretells disease
- Dreaming of heavy snow/being trapped in snow/hit by snow foretells the death of parent
- Dreaming of water foretells financial fortune (know someone who believes this)
- Through spirits/deities
- Possession could result in powers of divination (i.e. shamans, the blind, young boys)
- Sun
In modern society
Divination still prominent in Korea today (research/poll results will be released with the episode);
- Some claim shamanism is feared and ridiculed – disagree, no more than any other religion in Korea (Korea is mostly irreligious); hardship of shamanism dates back 1000+ years; shamanism/fortune telling has boomed (see: Interview with the Shaman episode)
- Saju (four pillars) remains popular
- Four pillars: year, month, day, and hour
- Visited saju reader once
- Easy to find around Jongno; interestingly, tarot readers are common
- Many meet readers for marital advice (compatibility, dates, etc.); ‘marital compatibility’ is called gungham
- Mother-in-law met one for my gungham and wedding date
- Gungham folktale (peddler and wife)
- Saju readers (and other fortune tellers) often advise changing one’s name to improve fortune
- Poor marriage compatibility? Change your name
- Friend’s daughter has health issues; fortune teller advised changing child’s name; family changed child’s name
- Yoon Seok-yeol allegedly hired a shaman (Geonjin Beopsa) as a campaign advisor; denied this
- Yoon allegedly met with many high profile fortune tellers
- Yoon moved presidential residence; rumours say he was informed to do so; most previous presidents experienced misfortune; Blue House suggested inauspicioius
- Kim Geon-hee, Yoon’s wife, receives consultation from self-professed spiritual leader Mujeong
- Contemporary legends
- Children conduct games (rituals to them); contact ghosts to divine the future, ask questions, etc. (see: Urban Legends episode)
