Koreans' traditional view on death has been much influenced by Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, and shamanism since ancient times. Confucianism emphasizes the importance of the real life in this world and highly praises doing good deeds for the family and the community. It also praises people who are enlightened by education and self-discipline. Confucian scholars admit that death cannot be understood by rational thinking although it is unavoidable as a cosmic order. Taoism sees life as the same entity as death; Both are two different aspects of the same cosmos or the wholeness. However, the disciples of Taoism became much interested in a long life and well being that may be achieved by harmonizing with the cosmic order. Buddhism thinks that death and life are an "illusion". It says that people can be enlightened by recognizing the fact that "Nothing is born and nothing is dying in this world. Everything is the product of your mind occupied with false belief." However, secular Buddhists believe in the afterlife and metempsychosis of the soul. This belief is sometimes connected with the view of the traditional shamanism. Shamanism dichotomizes the world between "this world" and "that world". After death, the person's soul travels to "that world", where it may influence life of people who reside in "this world". And shamans who are spiritual beings living in "this world" mediate souls and living people. In conclusion, there are various views and beliefs regarding death, which are influenced by a number of religions and philosophies. They should be seriously considered when making a medical decision regarding the end of patients' life.
Buddhism ; Confucianism ; Humans ; Philosophy ; Religious Philosophies ; Republic of Korea ; Shamanism ; Thinking

The purpose of this study is to construct the nursing-policy and nursing-theory of Korean style by understanding the type of recognition and attitude immanent in Korean people through of Korean people to the Shamanism. And this paper is using Q methodology by operant definition. Because individual recognition and attitude to Shammanism is very subjective and individualistic and many-sided. Q statements in this paper are ultimately 38 statements divided into 5 regions, which are abstracted from 285 Q samples. 38 persons in all are objects of P-population. The results of analyses on the characters of each type are as follows. The men who belong to type I is positive to the Shamanism in recognition and attitude at the same time. The men who belong to type II are negative the analysis of the recognition and attitude to Shamanism in recognition, but positive to Shamanism in practical attitude. The men who belong to type III are evidently negative to Shamanism in recognition and attitude at the same time. The men who belong to type IV are positive to Shamanism, but negative or reservative to it in attitude. In conclusion, we could affirm that shamanic care-act which modern medicine discard as only superstition is very deeply rooted in the Korean people'need. In short, Korean people is already and always related to Shamnism, whether positively or negatively. I dare to think this paper might contribute the other disciplines of sciences as basic data.
History, Modern 1601- ; Humans ; Male ; Nursing* ; Shamanism* ; Superstitions

This study was to find out the perception of toward death and caring behavior of lay parsons in one community : One Island in Pusan County, Chonbuk. The methodology of this study was ethnography. For this study, The fieldwork was conducted from October 1997 to July 1998. Data collected by in-depth interview and participant observations. The participants consisted of were 17 persons of both sexes. The key informants were four specific people. The result of this study is as follows; The people perceived two different kinds of death. Normal death, which means death from old age. The person was respected as an ancestor God and was believed to exist forever with their offspring. Abnormal death was regarded as negative, many had fears toward this king of death. The causes of abnormal death were supernatural phenomena and had absolute holy meanings. Whether death was good or bad, The death was not personal, but collective events as family or community affairs and was interpreted as death and birth for their offsprings. Funeral rites were family-centered and/or community-centered. The did normal procedures for normal deaths for abnormal deaths, there were many protective ceremonies(BuJungmagi : the prevention of the taboo of uncleanliness) for the remaining people. These ceremonies combined confucism and shamanism. Caring behavior for dying persons was ruled as community-centered, reciprocal and reality-centered principles.
Anthropology, Cultural ; Busan ; Funeral Rites ; Humans ; Jeollabuk-do ; Parturition ; Shamanism ; Taboo

This survey was done to construct a nursing theory according to Korean culture and to identify the Korean traditional view. From ancient time until now, shamanism has played an important role as determinant of Korean culture and of the personality formation of Korean people. The subjects are 321 patients and member of their families who were over 18 years old, and who are living in five large cities and two rural communities on Korea. Data collection was done from March, 8th to April, 29th in 1999. The tool developed by the investigator through literature review was used to measure the perception and the attitude of patients and their families to Korean shamanism. Collected data were analyzed by frequency, percent and test with SPSS program. The results are summarized as follows : 1) While 35% of respondents answered that the destiny or fate was only relied on the abilities and endeavor of individual, 65% of respondents were fatalists or eclectic are compromised between the fate and endeavor. 2) While half of the respondents belief in divination to some degree, the rest of them reported hardly any belief in divination. 3) There were almost twice as many respondents who directly consulted fortunetellers were as respondents who did not consult fortunetellers. 4) The reasons for consulting fortunetellers were job problems, home problems, health problems by in that order. 5) The respondents almost always interpreted the cause of physical disease and mental disease as being psycho-sociological, but 1% of them explained mental disease as a shamanistic manifestation. 6) In case of disease, the reasons for consulting a fortuneteller was a) no hope of recovery from the sickness in any other way, b) the chronic disease in that order. 7) Of the respondents, 65% answered that disease could not be cured by a 'Gut'(the performance done by the shaman), but 27% of respondents thought that disease could be cured by a 'Gut' in the case of mental disease. 8) Sixty six percent of the respondents answered that they have experienced praying for their wishes with clean water. 9) While 54% of the respondents answered that they have seen or heard the 'Beung Gut'(the performance to pray for recovery of sickness done by the shaman), 46% responded that they have they have never seen or heard it. 10) To the question, "do you intend to have a 'Beung Gut'", 51.7% of respondents answer "no" stongly, but 48% of them say "yes" or took a compromising attitude. 11) Generally the respondents differed in perception and attitude to shamanism. In short, females more than males, old aged more than younger aged, lower educated more than higher educated, believers in Buddhism more than believers in any other religion, and blue color more than white color have more positive attitudes to shamanism. Also men living in rural communities have more positive attitude to shamanism than men living in the large cities. Consequently, Shamanism can be understood as an anxiety relieving cultural system even though Shamanism itself looks like a cultural complex.
Adolescent ; Anxiety ; Buddhism ; Chronic Disease ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Female ; Hope ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Nursing Theory ; Research Personnel ; Rural Population ; Shamanism* ; Water

Smallpox was one of the most dreadful epidemic diseases in Korea until the early twentieth century. In the Chosun period, smallpox came to prevail more frequently and vigorously, and many people died of the disease. To cope with smallpox, the society of Chosun had various modes of measures, though they were not always effective, which included the government's rituals, medical men's prescriptions, and folk's recipes. Among various responses to smallpox, the recipes of folklore seem to be very interesting. While attitude toward other contagious diseases(e.g., typhoid fever, or malaria) mainly consisted of exorcism, smallpox was believed to be the passage of the smallpox deity, Sonnim(which means guest), through the body of patient for certain time span, and gods of smallpox were treated hospitably. This attitude toward smallpox was deeply rooted in Korean shamanism, and partly in the natural history of the disease. From 1876 smallpox vaccination was reintroduced and practiced. There were, however, a lot of difficulties in practice of vaccination due to distrust and prejudice. And traditional dealings with smallpox, in spite of vaccination, didn't disappear even after the Japanese compulsory occupation.
Disease Outbreaks/*history ; English Abstract ; *Folklore ; History of Medicine, 19th Cent. ; History of Medicine, Modern ; Human ; Korea ; Magic/*history ; *Religion and Medicine ; Shamanism/*history ; Smallpox/*history ; Vaccination/history

Eighty-three of 114 original articles and abstracts of research published by neuropsychiatrists of Chosun Chongdokbu Hospital (the Japanese colonial government hospital in Korea) and Keijo (Seoul) Imperial University Hospital during the Japanese colonial period (1910-1945) in journals including Shinkeigaku-zassi (Neurologia), Seishin-shinkei-gaku zassi (Psychiatria Et Neurologia Japonica), and The Journal of Chosun (Korea) Medical Association were reviewed. Most articles were on clinical research based on descriptive and biological psychiatry while only 4 articles were on dynamic psychiatry, probably because Japanese pioneers in psychiatry had introduced German psychiatry into Japan during the 1880s. The first paper was written by Dr. Shim Ho-sub. Professor Kubo of Keijo (Seoul) Imperial University published most articles, followed by Dr. Hikari, Dr. Hattori, and Dr. Sugihara. There were more articles on symptomatic psychosis and morphine addiction, followed by general paralysis, schizophrenia, neurological diseases, narcolepsy, epilepsy, and neurasthenia. The meaningful articles even for today were comparative studies between Japanese and Koreans and articles on opioid use disorder in Korea. Authors reported a markedly lower rate of psychotic inpatients in the population of Koreans compared with Japanese. Japanese researchers argued that, because of simpleness in social life in Korea and less violence or excitement in symptoms, Korean mental patients could be cared for by family or members of the community, or be treated by shamanism rather than bringing them to a public mental hospital, and poverty also prohibited hospital care. Finding of higher ratio of schizophrenia to manic-depressive psychosis among Koreans than Japanese was discussed in relation to delayed cultural development of Korea compared to Japan. In addition, traditional customs prohibiting marriage between relatives in Korea was related to low prevalence of manic-depressive psychosis, local endemic malaria was related to low prevalence of general paresis, and poor general hygiene was related to high prevalence of epilepsy. Unclear (undifferentiated) form of psychotic symptoms including hallucination and delusion was reported in more Koreans than Japanese. Also Korean patients showed a more atypical form in diagnosis. Authors added that they had found no culture-specific mental illness in Korea. However, no Korean psychiatrists were included as author in such comparative studies. Comparative studies on constitution between Koreans and Japanese mental patients and prisoners were also unique. However, no Korean psychiatrists participated in such comparative studies. In studies on morphine addiction in Koreans, Japanese researchers argued that such studies were necessary to prevent introduction of morphine-related criminal phenomena to Japan. Meanwhile, Dr. Kubo had left a notion on adaptation problems of Japanese living in the foreign country, Korea. Nevertheless he reported nothing about psychosocial aspects of mental illness in relation to political, cultural, and economic difficulties Koreans were experiencing under the colonial rule of Japan. These general trends of studies based on German biological and descriptive psychiatry and policies of colonial government to isolate "dangerous" mental patients in hospital appeared to reflect colonial or ethnopsychiatry of those days. These policy and research trends seem to have worsened stigma attached to mental disorders. Japanese tradition of psychiatric research was discontinued by return home of Japanese scholars with the end of WWII and colonial rule.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group* ; Biological Psychiatry ; Bipolar Disorder ; Constitution and Bylaws ; Criminals ; Delusions ; Diagnosis ; Epilepsy ; Ethnopsychology ; Hallucinations ; Hospitals, Psychiatric ; Humans ; Hygiene ; Inpatients ; Japan ; Korea ; Malaria ; Marriage ; Mental Disorders ; Mentally Ill Persons ; Morphine Dependence ; Narcolepsy ; Neurasthenia ; Neuropsychiatry ; Neurosyphilis ; Poverty ; Prevalence ; Prisoners ; Prisons ; Psychiatry* ; Psychotic Disorders ; Schizophrenia ; Shamanism ; Violence