Last time I looked at Korea's representative horror movie, “Bunshinsaba,” and I'm sure there are many friends who are curious about the culture and origins related to this movie. It is judged that a horror movie like “Bunshinsaba” can be produced only when Korean culture and history are closely related.
Because of this, this time we will look at the cultural and historical aspects of “bunshinsaba”.
Source: Meiji Period Nikkokkurisan no 謎を科学で解明！Tokyo University Founder・井上円了氏の妖怪研究｜LINK@TOYO｜Tokyo University
Bunshinsaba is known as a spell to summon ghosts that originated in Japan. In Korea, it is said that it first became popular in Daegu, but the exact record of its appearance or the process of spread are unknown. However, in the Japanese Wikipedia's 'Kokkuri-san' item, it is described that Kokkuri-san was spread to Joseon during the Japanese colonial period and became a bunsin saba, but considering that the bunsin saba's characteristics and names are in Japanese, this possibility clearly exists. I can say I do.
Source: Ouija Board (tistory.com)
From a historical point of view, in the West, there is something called a wizard board that is similar to Bunshinsaba. According to Japanese Wikipedia, an American sailor arrived in Izu Peninsula, Japan in 1884 and introduced the popular Ouija board to Japanese people. It is explained that it became (kokkrisan). Also in the modern West, a similar phenomenon called the Charlie Charlie Challenge has emerged.
Source:狐狗狸 / nat さんのイラスト - Niconico 静画 (イラスト) (nicovideo.jp)
There is a theory that table-turning in the West, 'Kokkuri-san' in Japan returned to the Korean Peninsula and became a bunshinsaba. Kokkuri-san is sometimes written as 狐狗狸さん, which means 'fox, dog, and raccoon' by using a combination of Chinese characters. Because of this origin, Bunsin Sabah is also known as a spell to summon a relatively low animal spirit. Kokkuri-san doesn't have a positive connotation, even in Japan, but rather is considered bad luck.
Source: Do you know Bunshinsaba? : Spell to Call Ghosts (feat. Stick) : Naver Blog (naver.com)
If you refer to the contents of Namu Wiki, Bunshinsaba has been popular since the 1980s in Korea, and when you write OX or numbers on white paper and two people hold a pen and recite a spell, the pen moves by itself and tells you the answer of the ghost. . The name Bunshinsaba is believed to be a variation of the Japanese word 'kokkurisan', which uses coins and 50 notes in a similar way to Western wizard boards. Bunshinsaba is widely spread in Korea because it is passed on word of mouth to people around you. According to the sentence "Do you know Bunsin Sabah?: A spell to call ghosts (feat. Stick)" on Naver Blog on January 22, 2021, it has a strong reliability that spreads by mouth, and in the case of Bunsin Saba, specific images and You will find that being able to imagine an action makes it more memorable.
Bunshinsaba has had various influences on Korean culture.
Bunshinsaba is a Japanese ghost magic called Kokkurisan, which was introduced to Korea, and there are many records that it began to be practiced at school or at home for fun with friends from the 1980s. However, it is known that bunsin saba was not just a game, but a dangerous act that called relatively low animal spirits, and a horror movie was also produced based on it. A total of 4 movies were released from 2004 to 2010, and contain the contents of tragic events happening due to contact with ghosts. Bunshinsaba films created a new genre in the horror movie market in Korea, and remakes or influences have appeared in other countries as well.
