Focus on Korean Shamanism
"Shamans Involved in Korea's 'Failed Coup'"
France's leading daily newspaper Le Monde focused on the shaman involved in President Yoon Suk-yeol's declaration of emergency martial law on December 3 and introduced Korean shamanism.
President Yoon Suk-yeol is attending the 8th impeachment trial hearing held at the Constitutional Court in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 13th. <2025.2.13 Photo by Joint Press Corps>
On the 14th (local time), Le Monde evaluated the December 3 emergency martial law as a "failed coup" and reported, "Considering that President Yoon of Korea and his wife like to seek advice from shamans, it is not surprising that shamans were involved in the process of declaring martial law."
It also mentioned former Commander of the Defense Security Command No Sang-won, a shaman who, as a civilian, secretly planned the emergency martial law in advance, ordered the takeover of the Central Election Commission and the arrest of its staff, acting as an unofficial power behind the scenes during the insurrection.
Le Monde stated, "Mr. No, who worked as a shaman under the name 'Ansan Bosal,' was contacted by his successor as commander of the Defense Security Command and participated in President Yoon's martial law, using his shamanic connections to ensure the success of the operation." It found it particularly interesting that, while working as a shaman, he also sought advice from other shamans. Mr. No began visiting fortune-telling houses in 2022 and started divining state affairs from 2023. Before the martial law, he also identified potential military traitors through the shaman 'Bidan Assi.'
Le Monde also paid attention to the shaman 'Geonjin Beopsa' Jeon Seong-bae, who served as an advisor to Kobana Contents and was active in Yoon's presidential campaign in 2022. It explained that he "has long advised Mrs. Kim Geon-hee and her cultural event company Kobana Contents" and is known as the person who persuaded President Yoon to run for president.
Regarding another shaman, 'Cheongong,' Le Monde reported that during the 2022 presidential election, he boasted, "We meet about once every ten days," and because of this, he is called the president's "mentor." It also noted that there is a view that President Yoon wrote the character '왕' (王), meaning 'king,' on his palm during the election period and that his decision to move the presidential office from the Blue House to the Ministry of National Defense was based on Cheongong's advice.
Le Monde described shamanism, which played a major role in the martial law, as "an ancient belief existing before Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism, known as Korean shamanism," and explained that "the Korean government estimates that about 300,000 to 400,000 shamans are active." It also recalled that the film 'Pamyoh,' directed by Jang Jae-hyun and released last year, attracted 12 million viewers.
Le Monde had previously evaluated the December 3 emergency martial law incident as "a bet that ended in failure."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
