Supernatural beings, such as god(s), spirits, ghosts, and the devil, are entities that cannot be appropriately explained by science. Some people have had experience with supernatural beings. Individuals differ in their supernatural beliefs depending on their age or related experiences, and they instinctively view or interpret supernatural beings based on their self-perception. However, many people have started to discuss their experience of supernatural beings on a broader level, including human activities, communities, cultures, and environments (Pirta, 2019). In a sense, these people tend to view the supernatural in terms of the relationship between individual minds and the social environment.

In shamanism as a spiritual practice, practitioners associate with various spirits, in particular through an altered state of consciousness (also known as a trance or ecstasy). Shamanism has been commonly existent in all nations, mainly because it has evolved or developed through human activities or over the course of human history (Singh, 2020). That is, local shamanism has evolved as a tradition within the distinct culture or unique history of each nation or region.

Moreover, shamanism has become part of human nature because it has been adapted to the intuitions, capacities, and survival of local peoples in each nation over long periods (Winkelman, 2009). Whereas some ancient shamanic practices have vanished, others are still carried out today. A few practices have reappeared after undergoing some transformation or modification. Shamanism is associated with ancient or outdated practices, it cannot be considered merely as a thing of the past but rather as an important aspect of human evolution, human needs, and human nature.

Shamanism has been frequently noted as one of the oldest professions in human history. However, it is hard to determine exactly how many people believe in shamanic spirituality in each nation, given that some individuals secretly believe in the practice. In addition, the activity of shamans has been more traditionally advocated in Siberia than in other places. The most classic form of shamanism is found in Siberia, and the term “shaman” originated from samann, which in the language of the Siberian Tungus tribe means “to know” (Kenny, 2012).

During the mid-nineteenth century, many researchers and practitioners in the international community began to use and popularize the term “shaman” in their works. They found that European titles, such as diviner, sorcerer, healer, juggler, and magician, did not fully express the concept of a shaman. However, the term did not have an exact definition at that time.

Even today, "shaman" has various meanings, with each region having developed its own definition (Krippner, 2007). Nevertheless, those multiple meanings may be summarized into this: A shaman is one who lives with mysteries, including death, diseases, and various kinds of disasters. Shamans claim that they have the power or knowledge to confront these mysteries and the ability to move between the spiritual and the material world. Thus, they are religious priests, medicine men, or individuals connected with different professions.

Defining the concept of shamanism has not been easy either. The term means different things to individuals, including a belief, a tradition, or a religion, such as totemism or animism. Mircea Eliade in 1951/1964 defined shamanism as techniques of ecstasy, trance, or magical flight among people in the west (Eliade, 1974). Research on shamanism has increased in many regions since the works of Eliade, whose definition was regarded as a reference and thus used as a tool for the study of neo-shamanism in the international community.

The subject of shamanism is included under the category of local, traditional, or indigenous knowledge. Local knowledge is usually passed on orally to descendants from ancestors without relying on formal documents. The category may be further divided into common and specialist knowledge (Dekens, 2007). Shamanism is a typical example of specialist knowledge, given that only a few shamans in a community retain the related local knowledge, which directly or indirectly contributes to the management of various disasters in a community.

In terms of research level, several studies in the international community have focused on shamanism. The research areas have been diverse and extensive, including psychology, psychiatry, medical science, physics, theology, archeology, regional studies, and natural sciences. Although some researchers have investigated shamanism in relation to disaster management, most have only partially touched on the subject and focused instead on other themes (Roedenbeck, 2014). Nonetheless, these previous researches have contributed to an understanding of the association between shamanism and disaster management.

Regardless of which research area is used as the basis for studying shamanism in the field of disaster management, one notable finding is the importance of a multidisciplinary perspective. Considering that the topic of shamans or shamanism is not simple and linear but rather complicated and nonlinear, a multidisciplinary viewpoint is better able to explain the subject compared with any single perspective (Rock and Krippner, 2011). Without such multidisciplinary perspective, the whole framework of shamanism in any region could not be systematically outlined.

During the Chosun dynasty (1392–1897) in Korea, Confucianism was the basis of national policy (Han, 2004). Men dominated all aspects of life in the nation, including official ceremonies. Because the society was patriarchal, women did not have the opportunity to express themselves or manage their own stresses. Under these circumstances, some women began to secretly take on the occupation of a shaman. New shamans were trained by senior ones by using the traditional, unwritten method (Yang, 1988). The active role of female shamans has endured even in the present time.

From the perspective of religion, although globalization has resulted in the conversion of some Koreans to Islam or Hinduism, the majority of Koreans follow either Christianity or Buddhism. Some researchers classify shamanism and Confucianism as religions (Oh, 2016). However, strictly speaking, they are not similar to other religions in that they do not have organized beliefs, formal organization, or moral codes and sacred objects. In particular, shamanism has some aspects of superstition, whereas Confucianism relates more to ethics.

Two major religions are directly or indirectly associated with shamanism in Korea: Christianity and Buddhism (Kim, 2000, 2018a, b). Many Christians seek the fulfillment of their wishes through their church activities, similarly to the function of shamanism, and both Christianity and shamanism believe in the existence of a supreme god. Buddhist temples across the country have been traditionally established by monks as buildings for the guardian spirits of a mountain, to whom they then pray. Some monks practice fortune-telling as well. In particular, Korean Buddhism has integrated shamanism into its temples.

Shamanism in Korea characteristically does not have a wide spectrum of singularity but rather a high degree of plurality (Kim, 2012). Similarly, there are not only multiple images (e.g., negative, positive, neutral, etc.) but also various realities (e.g., government policies on shamanism, shamans’ beliefs about themselves, etc.) in Korean shamanism. In addition, dynamic relationships exist between shamans and their clients, which depend on several factors, including the shamanic worldview, scientific rationalism, and the temporary desires of clients. The precise extent of plurality varies under different environments.

In a sense, there has always been widespread prejudice against shamanism in Korea (Chung, 2018). Throughout Korean history, the practice has not been officially welcomed but rather has been despised and persecuted regardless of the ruling ideology, whether Confucianism, capitalism, or democracy. The prejudice against shamans may be more clearly explained by the issue of cultural politics in Korea than by any other factors. The ruling classes have eagerly sought cultural triumph against shamanism by relying on their own ideologies. In this context, these classes have continued to spread cultural prejudice against shamanism.

Korean shamanism has tried with some difficulty to adapt to cultural changes (Phillips, 2010). A few decades ago, shamans contributed to the redressal of illnesses or domestic conflicts of individuals. However, the economic growth at the end of the twentieth century has resulted in the destruction of many shaman shrines. Recently, clients have been more willing to consult with shamans toward solving business-related problems than for any other reasons. Further, clients have been able to consult with shamans through advanced information and communication technologies, such as the Internet and mobile phones.

If indigenous psychology deals with examining psychological phenomena in cultural contexts, the Korean reliance on shamanism for psychological mitigation should be firmly based on indigenous psychology (Hwang, 2010). Some Western psychologists still face difficulties in understanding indigenous psychology. However, they will understand the core values of shamanism when they comprehend the local culture and language. At the same time, non-Western psychologists may well explain local shamanism, in particular when depending on indigenous psychology.

Similarly, reviewing Korean shamanism is an effective channel to understand Koreans’ selfhood, unique worldviews, psychological suffering, or else (IvyPanda, 2022; Mascolo and Maheshwari, 2019). Selfhood or the perspective of a first person (or I) has been substantially reflected to local shamanism, when reflecting that many local residents have preferred to consult with favorite shamans. At the same time, worldview differences have been formed to shamanism. Likewise, when a baby is born, many people as well as Shamans in Korea believe that a soul (or karmic implication) is transmigrated to his or her body. Regarding psychological suffering, the Koreans have traditionally suffered from a feeling of bitterness.

To elaborate, a number of Koreans as a sort of selfhood have continued to believe that their suffering will be mitigated, fully or partially, thanks to the power of shamanism. Korean suffering has been uniquely known as han, but the term has not been successfully translated into other languages. Indeed, han is a kind of emotional turbulence, but it variously includes the high extent of not only grief but also resentment (Huer, 2009). Older Koreans have blowing off steam, whereas younger Koreans have been willing to express their emotion. Shamanism has survived for a long time, but it still faces many challenges such as politics, threats of other religions, physical science, and others. In summary, the culture of Korean shamanism has been solidly located in local areas with the support of individuals’ selfhood and suffering.

Korean researchers began to seriously study the issue of shamanism in the 1960s, publishing shamanic narratives while documenting rituals and ceremonies. The research was divided into two perspectives, shamanism as folklore (musok) and shamanism as an indigenous religion (mugyo) (Seo, 2013). More diverse perspectives, such as cultural and psychological ones, are currently being applied. Nonetheless, no studies have rigorously explored the role of shamanism in disaster management. The present work thus provides an opportunity to fill the research gap.

There are two distinctive approaches to the study of shamanism in the field of disaster management. The first is the secularism approach. Shamanism in Korea has developed its own belief system, including concepts of wealth, longevity, health, and fertility (Walter and Fridman, 2004). Many individuals consider these areas as potential sources of disasters or tragedies in their lives; hence, they rely on shamanism to pursue monetary benefit, a long life, physical healing, and having children.

In the secularism approach, the focus of Korean shamanism is solving difficulties in everyday life, given that each of the four above-mentioned areas encompasses many aspects of secular life. In fact, the desire for wealth, longevity, health, and fertility, among others, motivate many people to turn to shamanism. Accordingly, Korean shamanism does not focus on either the afterlife or the cosmos. Death rites are considered not as the end but rather as a passage. Regarding the cosmos, Korean shamanism divides the world only into a spiritual and a human plane.

The second approach is psychological impact mitigation. Some Koreans use shamanism as a healing tool toward overcoming a psychological disaster. As in other places, many Korean individuals are mentally or psychologically impacted by the challenges in their lives. Some also believe that disasters are caused by hovering ghosts. The shaman contributes to cleaning up a disaster by applying simple exorcism. In this case, the shaman has been described as a wounded surgeon (Kendall, 1988). Specifically, shamanic affliction is considered as a passage rite toward mental healing.

In 1963, Claude Levi-Strauss stated that it was possible for shamans to treat or heal ill patients or disaster victims by making full use of psychological or magical methods (Levi-Strauss, 1977). Shamans should be able to treat disaster victims solely by using psychological influences, without relying on the combination of drug treatment, manual intervention, and psychological methods. Thus, Levi-Strauss described shamans as noble savages; he also emphasized that psychological support should be provided in sustainable ways.

Disaster mitigation aims to eliminate the impacts of various disasters through weather forecasts, hazard mapping, tornado safe rooms, vaccination and treatment, and disaster conferences, among others. It includes appropriate activities that can decrease the potential effects of disasters or risks against people and property. Although disaster mitigation initially seems to be applicable in the period before a disaster, it is actually applicable before, during, and after the occurrence of a disaster (FEMA, 2006). In this regard, psychological impact mitigation is also applicable to the pre-disaster, disaster, and post-disaster periods. Successful psychological impact mitigation should thus be regarded not as a one-time solution but as a lifetime strategy.

Psychological impact mitigation is somewhat different from other standard mental health approaches (Sanchez-Gomez et al., 2021). Considering that trauma is the emotional response of an individual to terrible events, including natural hazards and man-made emergencies, the psychological impact mitigation approach falls under the category of trauma psychology. Any long-lasting psychological symptom can develop into post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Compared with other standard mental health approaches, psychological impact mitigation is surrounded by uncertain environments, such as a short period of disaster response, the lack of medical supplies during emergencies, and other contingencies. In many aspects, psychological impact mitigation is more time-oriented than other standard mental health approaches.