There Is No Amen in Shaman: Traditional Music Preservation and Christianity in South Korea

Since 1962, when it enacted the Cultural Properties Preservation Law, the South Korean government has made considerable efforts to preserve the Korean heritage. Among the many aspects it has funded and promoted are the performance and teaching of traditional music. Over the years, the system has often been criticized, mostly in regard to its selection of specific traditions or people, but in recent decades it has faced a new challenge. A small but growing number of Christians have begun to renounce aspects of traditional music that they consider to be superstitious. Although at first most of those involved were outside the traditional music scene, in recent years even a number of senior musicians have begun to express their dislike of the superstitious aspects of their art. In this study I discuss the history of the intolerance and examine its potential implications for the authenticity of traditional music.