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Recognizing their musical expertise, military officials routinely conscripted these men into specialized units called mubu-gunroe. Clad in distinct red uniforms, they were placed at the forefront of magistrates’ processions to sound horns, clear the path, and perform acrobatics.

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In late Joseon society, shaman households operated under a clear division of roles: women served as shamans (mudang) who led ceremonies, while their husbands and sons (mubu) acted as professional instrumentalists accompanying the rites.

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Why You Should Never Reveal Your Talents in the Military

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Stolen during the Japanese colonial occupation, it was mysteriously returned in 1938. According to local lore, anyone who possessed the stolen relic suffered relentless misfortune, plagued every night by the Bodhisattva haunting their dreams and demanding to be returned to the temple.

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The Gilded Bronze Seated Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva of Seonunsa Temple in Gochang was originally established during the Silla Dynasty and later gilded under King Gwanghaegun of Joseon.

Upon finally reaching the grave site, the priest and his congregation promptly held a service of repentance—solemnly confessing that they had completely thrashed the villagers. -Cecil Hodges, The English Church Mission in Corea: Its Faith and Practice

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When an Anglican missionary took a shortcut across a bridge cutting through a village, outraged locals attacked the funeral procession with shovels and pickaxes. However, the Christian mourners fought back and routed the mob.

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In traditional Korean culture, carrying a corpse through a living community was strictly taboo, as it was believed to bring spiritual misfortune.

In his anthology Beonamjip, high-ranking official Chae Je-gong documented that the craze had escalated into a serious social concern, noting that women frequently pawned their hairpins and jewelry or went into debt just to compete with one another for the latest novel rentals.

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morikoa @morikoa3.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

During the late Joseon Dynasty, commercial book lending shops (sechaekjeom) flourished as vernacular fiction swept through the female populace.

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Traditional folklore playfully explains the blue Mongolian spot commonly found on East Asian infants as a handprint bruise left behind when Samsin Halmi smacks a hesitant baby on the backside to kick them out of the womb.

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morikoa @morikoa3.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

In Korean mythology, Samsin Halmi is the divine goddess who presides over pregnancy, childbirth, and infant health.

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morikoa @morikoa3.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

The Myth Behind Korean Births

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Shocked, the family burned their spirit tablets on the spot; the mother returned to the church, and the sons signed up for baptism. -Cecil Hodges, The English Church Mission in Corea: Its Faith and Practice

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Entering a trance, the shaman channeled John’s spirit, scolding them: “I am John’s spirit. Because you abandoned the faith and stopped praying for me, I cannot rest. Repent immediately!”

A shaman once unintentionally did the Church a massive favor. After a Christian father named John passed away, his family apostatized and turned back to shamanism. But when a family member fell ill, they hired a renowned shaman for an exorcism ritual.

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K-Shamanism, Supporter of Religion

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‪Years later, when that same scholar was appointed to the Ministry of Taxation, Vice Minister Jeong promptly rejected his appointment—declaring that someone who breaks even the smallest promise could never be trusted with the nation’s finances.‬

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‪This is folktale‬ ‪During the reign of King Jeongjo, official Jeong Hong-sun had to personally retrieve a borrowed rain hat (galmo) after a scholar failed to return it. ‬

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Return What You Borrow On Time

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This text outlines a conceptual design for an indigenous submersible vessel capable of submerging and navigating underwater for coastal defense.

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In the Gyureunjae Yugo (橘隱齋遺稿), an anthology compiled by the late Joseon Confucian scholar Kim Ryu (19th–20th century), there is a section titled Buseonje (鳧船制, "Duck ship System").

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extending approximately 36.5 m from the examination hall (Bansudang) to the exterior of the complex walls. Candidates had utilized this pipeline to pass test prompts to outside accomplices and smuggle back ghostwritten essays.

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While foraging on the academy grounds, a local woman pulled on an exposed rope in the soil, prompting officials to excavate an underground conduit buried half a foot deep. The installation consisted of linked bamboo tubes sheltered beneath roof tiles,

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In February 1705, an elaborate examination fraud was uncovered at Sungkyunkwan, the premier royal academy of the Joseon Dynasty.

Cheating rig in Joseon dynasty

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The Samguk Yusa (write in Goryeo era) records historical lore of the Three Kingdoms, including King Sinmun’s legendary flute, Manpasikjeok—an all-powerful cheat-code relic said to repel foreign invaders, stop droughts, and heal plagues with a single tune.

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Manpasikjeok: A flute that calms all the hardships of the world and brings peace.

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Instantly, an ear-splitting blast ripped through the room, killing all three—the mother, the son, and the grandson. It is said that investigators were never able to trace where the box came from.” — The Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, November 28, 1874

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“While Min Seung-ho was dining with his young son and the Grand Internal Princess Consort Hanchang, an unidentified man delivered a small box disguised as a local tribute package (...) and vanished immediately. Intrigued by its peculiar shape, Min unlocked the box himself.

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morikoa @morikoa3.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

The first mail bomb case in Korea

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The Mechanism of Korean Shamanistic Belief

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Ritual for a Bountiful Catch

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My blade was of exceptionally fine steel, yet the spine was heavily notched in multiple spots from our swords colliding—proof that the intruder's blade was just as deadly." — The Daily Records of the Royal Secretariat (Seungjeongwon Ilgi), May 12, 1733

A man holding a sword on the veranda panicked, jumped down onto the stepping stones, and lunged at me. I parried and traded heavy blows with him, clashing blades all the way to the outer gate until the rogue sprang up, vaulted the perimeter wall, and fled. (...)

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