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세습무 (Hereditary Shamanism)
0:44
화평's grandfather uses the term 세습무 (sehseupmu), a shaman whose spiritual role is passed down through bloodlines rather than chosen through a calling or spiritual crisis. In Korean folk religion, 세습무 families are concentrated in certain regions and carry both prestige and heavy social burden — being born into the lineage means you are expected to serve the spirits whether you want to or not. The word 영매 (yeongmae), 'spirit medium,' signals that 화평 has an ability the family considers both a gift and a curse.
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굿 (Gut – Shamanistic Ritual)
8:24
화평 keeps urging 육광 to perform a 굿 (gut), a full shamanistic ceremony led by a 무당 (mudang, shaman). A proper 굿 can last hours or even days, involves drumming, chanting, elaborate costumes, and offerings to specific gods and spirits, and is meant to expel harmful entities or appease restless souls. It is the Korean shamanic counterpart to what the Catholic priests are about to attempt with their exorcism rite.
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부마자 (Possessed Person) — Catholic Term
9:31
한 신부 uses the Catholic term 부마자 (bumaja), literally 'one who is ridden by an evil spirit,' which is the official Korean Church word for a person suffering demonic possession. It maps onto the Latin 'obsessus' used in the Roman Rite of Exorcism. The show deliberately puts Catholic and shamanistic vocabulary side by side, highlighting how both traditions in Korea have formal, technical language for the same phenomenon.
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장엄 구마 예식 (Rite of Major Exorcism)
12:06
한 신부 cites 구마 예법 제1172조, referring to Canon 1172 of the Catholic Code of Canon Law, which states that only a priest specifically authorised by his bishop may lawfully perform a solemn exorcism. The 장엄 구마 예식 (jangeum guma yesik) is the Church's formal, major exorcism — distinct from minor blessings — and the canon he names is the real legal text. 윤 nervously reminding him they lack the bishop's approval (교구장 승인) is a genuine procedural concern within Catholic practice.
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성 베네딕트 기도문 (Prayer to Saint Benedict)
12:58
한 신부 recites an invocation of 성 베네딕트 (Saint Benedict of Nursia), whose medal and associated prayer are among the most widely used Catholic sacramentals for warding off evil. The repeated phrase '저희를 위해 빌어 주소서' (pray for us) is the standard litany response. The Medal of Saint Benedict, stamped with Latin abbreviations of exorcism prayers, is commonly worn by Korean Catholics as everyday spiritual protection.
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구마 사제의 위험 (The Toll of Exorcism Ministry)
17:50
한 신부 warns that performing many exorcisms causes a priest's soul to be gradually consumed by the spirits he battles. This mirrors real Catholic exorcism guidelines, which caution that the ministry is spiritually and physically exhausting and that exorcists should be rotated and supported. In Korean Catholic culture, the handful of officially designated 구마 사제 (exorcism priests) are treated with a mixture of awe and quiet concern by their communities.
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수목장 (Natural Tree Burial)
23:37
When the priests discuss where to inter 한 신부, someone suggests the 교구 수목장 (diocesan woodland burial ground). 수목장 (sumokjang) is a modern Korean burial practice where cremated remains are mixed into soil around a designated tree, which then serves as the memorial marker. It became legally regulated in South Korea in 2008 and has grown popular as urban land for traditional grave mounds runs scarce; many religious institutions now maintain their own 수목장 sites.
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자살과 교회 매장 (Suicide and Catholic Burial Rights)
40:21
Self-harm
The senior priest insists that because the police ruled 한 신부's death a suicide, he cannot be interred in the diocesan 수목장 — the implication being that Catholic burial rites may be denied. Historically the Church refused funeral rites to those who died by suicide; while the 1983 Code of Canon Law softened this considerably, the stigma lingers in practice, and the scene captures the very real pastoral tension Korean Catholic communities still navigate when a death is officially classified as suicide.
This note discusses suicide or
self-injury. If you need someone to talk to: in Korea call 109,
in the US call or text 988, or
find a helpline in your country.
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무당의 방울 (Shaman's Bell and Rattle)
42:39
육광 begins his ritual using a 방울 (bangul), a cluster of small brass bells that is one of the signature tools of a Korean shaman. The ringing is believed to call the shaman's guardian spirit (신령), drive away malevolent entities, and help the shaman enter a trance state. Alongside the bells, mudang typically use a fan, a sword, and ritual garments — each item belonging to a specific deity in the shaman's pantheon.
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성 미카엘 기도 (Prayer to Saint Michael)
48:35
윤 recites the 성 미카엘 대천사 기도 (Prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel), a well-known Catholic exorcism prayer composed by Pope Leo XIII in 1886 after he reportedly experienced a vision of Satan. It was once said after every Low Mass and is still recommended before exorcism rites. Korean Catholics recognise it immediately; the lines about 'rulers of darkness' and 'the old serpent' are quoted almost verbatim from the standard Korean translation used in parishes today.
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상급령 (Superior Demon) in Exorcism Theology
56:23
윤 asks whether there is a 상급령 (sanggeupnyeong), a higher-ranking demon controlling the possessing spirit — a concept rooted in Catholic demonology, which classifies evil spirits in a hierarchy. Exorcism manuals instruct the priest to compel lower spirits to name their superior, since commanding the superior directly is believed to break the possession more completely. The drama uses this real procedural detail from the 1999 Vatican exorcism rite that 윤 would have studied.
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화평의 감응 능력 (Hwapyeong's Psychic Resonance)
64:40
화평 explains that he experiences 감응 (gamung), an involuntary psychic resonance with whoever is possessed — he sees what the possessing entity has seen and done. This is distinct from being possessed himself. In Korean shamanistic tradition, a spirit medium's sensitivity is understood as a permanent openness to the spirit world, not something that can be switched off, which is why his family's 세습무 lineage viewed his gift with such unease from childhood.