Shamanism (called Muism too) is the oldest religion on the peninsula – coming before Buddhism and Confucianism. The central ceremony to this is the gut 굿 and these tend to focus on pleasing spirits in order to get favorable outcomes in different aspects of life – harvest, love, wealth, etc.

While walking through our neighborhood one day, we observed a ceremony for a restaurant about to open for business for the first time.

There was also a large Shaman ritual on Gwangali beach as well

This guy is walking on blades and has a microphone piece to talk and sing to the crowd. There was also offerings and music

Here is the blade walker up close

Women in Hanboks (traditional Korean clothing) prepare food and drinks

Here are some more beach pics – The other main beach, Haeundae was having it’s sand festival. Artists sculpt and paint the sand to create these huge sand sculptures

We brought a bottle of wine to enjoy on the sand – no open container laws in Korea

A beautiful sunny day back on Gwangali beach