Ethnography in Seoul Village Ritual

In 2011, I conducted an ethnography on Seoul village shamanism, visiting villages following the previous folklore studies, ‘Seoul Maeul Gut (Hong Ju Park, 2001)’. I visited village shrines and guardian trees, and contacted the ritual chief, as well as the district office and community centers. I also interviewed elderly people who maintain and participate in village shamanic rituals.

Participatory Observation in Rituals and Interviews

After preliminary visits to various villages in Seoul, our team conducted 4 months of intensive ethnography in Dangsan-dong with the generous support of the villagers of Dangsan-dong. We conducted interviews with the ritual participants and the Dangsan-dong Bugundang Conservation Association (당산동 부군당 보존회) at their offices (including supermarkets and restaurants) and the district office. After learning about the local sentiments between natives and the new residents who moved into apartments where the previous shrine had been located, we also invited the new residents, who were mostly parents of children at local elementary schools, to introduce and share local culture and traditions. On the 20th of October (following the lunar calendar), there was the Bugundang Gut (ritual). The names of people who donated to the ritual were written on paper and hung around the shrine, and the group of shamans conducted the ritual all day, first at the shrine and later at the village guardian Ginkgo tree.

A Site-Specific, Tour Performance, ‘Neverending Stories’ (2011)

After the fieldwork, listening to the stories of elderly people around their village ritual, including their struggles to continue after urban development, conflicts within the native community, and external conflicts with newly migrated neighbors, we framed a site-specific tour performance where audiences visit each site of this village and hear about this tradition directly from the elderly natives. Simultaneously, after workshops with newly migrated neighbors (Parents and children), they performed in the last part of the performance as a show of respect for this tradition.

Performance Introduction

Have you heard about Dangsandong Bugundang (shamanic shrine)? Can you imagine Village Shamanic Ceremonies in Seoul, one of the most civilized cities in the world? Dansandong shamanic shrine and the villagers’ rituals have survived for 500 years, the colonial era, the Second World War, industrialization, and natural disasters like floods.

We invite you to hear about the stories of Dansandong shamanic ritual and the villagers. However, please visit with sincerity to encourage the native villagers of Dansandong and hear their stories.

This performance invites audiences to Dangsandong village, where you will meet and visit villagers at a local restaurant, office, house, and shamanic shrine. You will be told the stories of Dangsandong shamanic ritual, which is still alive in the city with traces of history and civilization.

A Site-Specific Tour Performance, Never-Ending Stories (Dangsan-dong, Seoul, 2011)

장소 특정적 투어 공연, 끝나지 않는 이야기 (서울 당산동, 2011)

당산동 부군당을 아시나요?
서울이라는 도시안에 남아있는 마을굿을 아시나요?
당산이 깍이고 홍수가 나고, 전쟁 포탄이 떨어져도
마을의 안녕을 기원하는 당산동 사람들이 모시는 제사입니다.
… 도시 속에 남은, 도시의 잔해가 남은,
500년 된 당산동과 부군당의 이야기를 들으러 오세요.
다만 당산동 토박이 어른들께서 신나게 이야기하실 수 있도록
진심어린 눈빛으로 바라봐 주셔야 합니다.

Credit

Concept: Yeong Ran Suh

Collaborative Artists: Sun A Lee, Ja In Han, Yeong Ran Suh

Participating Villagers: 조박사님과 얼음집, 안 할아버지, 부군당 제주님, 당산동 국밥집, 당산동 미용실 등

Tour Guide: Sang Eun Yoon, Na Yoon Heo

Staff: Sara Park, Wang Sik Ahn

Photo Documentation: Sang Gyun Ahn

Video Documentation: Hye Yoon Jung

Thanks to: Dangsandong Community Office, Dansandong Bugundang Conservation Association

Supported by:
Seoul Foundation of Art and Culture (2011), Ganesa Production (2012), Judson Drama Strikeout (2020)

Review

<어린이 신문: 여럿이 함께> 리뷰 (글쓴이: 김우진, 이상명)

Documentation of Ethnography

Published by PAN-Asian Performing Art Magazine. Vol.5

Never-ending Stories App

Supported by Judson Strikethrough

After the tour performance, this ethnography was introduced as a lecture performance, <I Confess My Faith>, in 2012. In 2020, the stories of elderly people in Dansandong were introduced as an App. When audiences download the app and visit each site in the village, they can listen to and watch the audio or videos.

Later, this research further led to a lecture performance <I Confess My Faith> (2012) and <We Re/Confess Our Faith>.

Despite the great effort to preserve the rituals, the Dangsandong shrine and its shamanic ritual have not been designated as a cultural asset. Currently, only one elderly man is responsible for the ritual on a smaller scale (every year on the full moon in October according to the Lunar calendar), with support from the Yeongdeungpo district. (Written on June, 28, 2025)

Currently, the district has planned the redevelopment of the region, which includes constructing apartments and demolishing the Dangsandong Bugundang Shrine. Encountering this, I have continued to visit the region and discuss the issue with the remaining ritual participants. I have presented this issue at the ISARS 2026 Conference and the Aparn x ADPRex 2026 Conference under the title “Who Speaks for Village Rituals that Capitalism does not mimic?” I am working on further landscape research and articles on the transformation of ritual practice after several phases of development in Dangsandong.