My documentary on Jeju Island’s shamanic culture (Sprits: The Story of Jeju Island’s Shamanic Shrines) will debut this September. I’ll be sharing plenty of extras on my youtube channel . I’ve been researching and filming the project for five years, so there is plenty to come.

This clip is from a series I’m calling ‘Field Notes’. In this section, I’ll be curating short, rough clips that I think illuminate some aspect of Jeju Island’s unique, polytheistic religion.

In this clip, a woman diver (haenyo) from Pyoungdae Village explains how the winter solstice is celebrated in her village. The village shaman is ill and can’t attend the ritual. Is it possible to communicate with the goddess without the aid of the spirit medium?