Kim Yunsu, Holder of Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeung Gut, Passes Away at Age 76

Praying to the Wind God for Village Peace and Prosperity
Participating in Various Cultural Events to Promote Traditional Gut Rituals

Kim Yoon-su, holder of the National Intangible Cultural Property 'Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut,' passed away on the 2nd at the age of 76.

The deceased was the great-grandson of the late Kim Jeong-ho, a famous "keun simbang (shaman)" in Jeju. At the age of sixteen, he was guided by his great-aunt, a simbang, to learn the gut ritual. He gained experience by working with prominent Jeju keun simbang such as An Sa-in and Jin Bu-ok, and in 1987, he mastered the Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut. From 1990, he devoted himself to preservation and transmission as a certified transmission educator and became the second-generation holder in 1995.

The Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut is one of several danggut rituals performed in Jeju. It is held annually in February at Chilmeoridang in Geonip-dong, Jeju City. It is a folk ritual praying to Yeongdeungshin (Yeongdeung Halmaeng), the wind deity, rather than the village guardian deity (Dangsin). On the first day of the lunar February, when Yeongdeungshin arrives, the 'Yeongdeung Welcome Ceremony' is held, and on February 14, the day before Yeongdeungshin departs, the 'Yeongdeung Farewell Ceremony' is performed. Not only village residents but also fishermen and haenyeo (female divers) participate to pray for the village’s peace and the prosperity of their livelihoods. The Cultural Heritage Administration explained, "It is the only haenyeo gut in Korea, embodying Jeju’s unique haenyeo faith and folk beliefs," and added, "It was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009."

The deceased actively participated in various cultural events to promote traditional gut rituals. Notably, he presided over the gut ritual commemorating the 2009 UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage inscription and officiated the 'Seolmundaehalmangje' at Jeju Dolmunhwa Park in 2012. He also devoted himself to the preservation and transmission of Yeongdeunggut by participating in the 2020 World Heritage Cultural Festival.

He is survived by his wife Lee Yong-ok, sons Kim Byung-sam and Byung-cheol, and daughter Jin-hee. The funeral is being held at Jeju Bumin Funeral Hall, with the funeral service scheduled for 10 a.m. on the 8th.