[KS] Korean Ghost Stories

[Michael J. Wilson]

As far as ghost stories and Korean popular culture go, summer time is when
all the ghost story movies are shown on TV because the fear factor emotions
makes people feel cool in the hot summer weatherI'm told.

Contemporary Koreans excel are horror/ghost story movies and a testament to
that is that I can go to the local Blockbuster Video store in this city near
Toronto and find four such Korean movies to rent!  I highly recommend the
movie "Phone" as an example.  Don't watch it alone.

"Tokkaebi's Magic Club" is a popular children's story which I translated to
use in my ESL classes for kids

As David Mason has kindly alluded, ghosts or spirits are no light matter,
and figure strongly in Korean shamanic ceremonies.  I am not clear on the
process, but some shamans are said to become possessed by a "ghost" or
"spirit" as a way of setting them on their path to becoming shamans, a
process the shaman to be has no control over.


Michael J. Wilson, Research Ethics Officer
McMaster University, 1280 Main St. W. MDCL-3500
Hamilton, Ont. L8S 4L8,  TEL:905-525-9140 ext.23142
FAX:905-540-8019, WEB: http://www.mcmaster.ca/ors/ethics/