How did shamanism capture the younger generation… ‘K-shamanism’ has swept everything from variety shows to apps - 경향신문

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The heyday of fortune-teller variety shows… what explains the ‘shamanism boom’?

Poster for the shamanism-themed variety show <Fate War 49>, airing on Disney+ since February. Courtesy of Disney+

[Weekly Kyunghyang] Since February, the over-the-top (OTT) platform Disney+ has been airing <Fate War 49>, a variety show in which 49 diviners gather to test their fate through various missions. It drew attention for centering shamanism and taking a survival-program format, but it has recently become the focus of controversy as certain missions and inappropriate remarks by cast members have continued. Critics argued that it exploited tragic deaths as sensational entertainment material for a fortune-teller survival contest.

While the controversy, stemming from the production team’s improper execution, has brought questions about ethical standards in content-making to the surface, separately, the recent phenomenon of shamanism itself standing at the center of content also merits attention. The globally popular <K-pop Demon Hunters> and the 2024 film <Exhumation>, which surpassed 11 million moviegoers, likewise used shamanism as a theme.

This craze is not confined to the content sphere. Among younger people, the “bad-luck-warding dried pollock keyring” (a dried pollock hung with string in folk belief to block misfortune, turned into a keyring) is popular, and birth-chart reading applications combined with ChatGPT are trending. Some interpret this “shamanism boom” as a new fad, while others see it as a current reflecting facets of modern society.

<Possessed Love> and <Shin-ppal Talk Show: Eerie Tales> are variety shows centered on shamans that are currently drawing attention on OTT services and cable channels. If you search for “shaman” or “birth chart” on YouTube, you will find videos where shamans read viewers’ birth charts on their own channels or correctly guess a submitter’s past, drawing hundreds of thousands of views.

Shamanism has a long history of appearing in films and dramas. In the past it was often used merely as background or as a device to convey a sense of foreboding, but lately the shamanic act itself or the shaman is placed at the center of the story. It is also frequently portrayed in neutral or positive terms. <K-pop Demon Hunters> and <Exhumation>, which focus on shamans’ exploits, are representative. Talk-variety programs with a “fortune-telling consultation” concept, such as <Knee-Drop Guru> and <Ask Anything, Fortune Teller>, have also enjoyed steady popularity.

This can first be understood at the level of the content ecosystem. As media platforms proliferate and competition intensifies, a host of genres that were not previously turned into variety formatsnot only shamanism but also dance, cooking, and moreare rapidly being content-ified.

In a 2025 paper titled “The Forms and Meanings of Shamanism Content Reproduced in TV Variety Programs,” Lee Eun-woo, a Research Professor at the Institute for Korean Cultural Studies at Korea University, diagnosed, “Amid a flood of largely similar programs, there arose a need for provocative material that could differentiate from existing shows,” adding, “Against this backdrop, shamanism content can be understood as having been chosen as a source that can offer spectacular ‘visual spectacles.’” Regarding the controversy around <Fate War 49>, one industry insider said, “Because it has to be enticing enough to make consumers pay for a subscription, it appears to have pursued provocation to an excessive degree,” and added, “Walking a tightrope with sensational material is the fate of content creators in this era.”

As almost every industry revolves around the “influencer economy,” shamans likewise feel a growing need to promote themselves, which is one reason for the popularization of shamanism content. Yeom Eun-young, head of the Divination Culture Research Institute who has analyzed Korea’s divination culture and ecosystem, said, “(With the development of the internet) there is rising concern among diviners that unless they join the trend of commodifying themselves, they may be eliminated amid harsh competition,” adding, “Even now, many shamans are effectively closed for business, and services for themacademies, lifelong education centers, Naver ads, paid YouTube promotionare increasing. Some try to escape this tide and pursue only genuineness, but shamans (diviners), too, cannot be free from a modern society where even anxiety is commodified.”

The popularity of shamanism is not limited to the realm of content. The MZ generation readily uses horoscope apps and frequently visits offline fortune-teller shops. In a survey conducted last April by the research platform Lime of 5,000 men and women aged 19 to 39, about 74% of respondents said they enjoy horoscopes or birth-chart readings. Of these, 46.2% used mobile horoscope platforms, and 25.2% had visited offline shops such as philosophy consultancies. Recently, birth-chart prompts made with ChatGPT have also gained popularity.

The app Jeomsin, which offers services such as tarot, birth-chart readings, and today’s horoscope. Jeomsin screenshot

Experts say the popularity of shamanism among the young generation should be understood as an extension of human nature rather than a special phenomenon.

Jang Seok-man, a research fellow at the Korean Religious Culture Research Institute, said, “If we compare the relationship between religious professionals and believers in institutional religions with the relationship between shamans and clients in shamanism, shamanism has characteristics akin to a consumer good,” adding, “Compared with booking formal counseling or seeing a doctor, it feels less burdensome, and under confidentiality it offers opportunities to talk intimately and in detail across one’s life, and to view one’s problems from a fundamentally different dimensionreasons why young people are seeking out shamans.”

In “Shamanism, Between Psychology and Religion” (2026), Gu Hyeong-chan, a research professor at the Sogang University K-Religion Scholarship Dissemination Research Institute, defined shamanism as one of the various means for navigating the uncertainties and hardships that lie ahead in life. He said, “The tradition of shamanism has always existed, but depending on the era it has been treated as if it did not, or has coexisted and continued to this day,” adding, “Humans are inherently anxious beings and possess various ways to resolve that anxiety. For the younger generation, doing an online birth-chart reading or going in person for a reading, or checking today’s horoscope in a newspaper, can be seen as one of the many solutions chosen to achieve their purposes.”

There is also an interpretation that today’s divination practices reflect the phenomenon of relational disconnection in modern society. Yeom Eun-young said, “As life becomes increasingly individualized and social ties continue within it, many people do not know where to pour out their troubles and seek advice,” adding, “Divination can be seen as one way to try to reconnect severed relationships and overcome that break.”