Ten Thousand Spirits

Running Time:54 minutes
Broadcaster:CBC Radio, IDEAS
Broadcast Date:Monday Oct 19, 2009
CBC Radio One, 2PM across Canada
Sirius Satellite 137 across North America (various times)
Broadcasts: Wednesday May 20, 2009, Sept 7, 2009
Listen to CBC Radio on the Internet
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WHAT IF the world were full of spirits who walked among us? Punishing those who didn't regularly nourish them with food and drink with untold bad luck? Bestowing good fortune on those who paid their respects with the help of a spiritual guide?

In many cultures shamans bridge the divide between the natural and the supernatural, between those living and those long deceased. The word shaman originally referred to the traditional healers of Siberia and Mongolia. It meant "One who knows". In Korea, they're called mansin or Ten Thousand Spirits, referring to the belief that multitudes of spirits surround and affect all human and natural events.

When I first got access to the world of Korean mansin, as a writer... I wanted to know why people would resort to such ancient beliefs, in a country that is now one of the world's most wired, most technologically advanced. As a skeptic, I wanted to SEE these shamans - famous for their ability to dance on knives. TEST their telepathic talents. And FEEL the presence of these capricious spirits.

What drives a modern society to hold on, indeed, strengthen a traditional belief, when so many are lost? Does belief in the spirit world require blind faith or physical proof? Or, is spirituality an expression of a cultural legacy?