#
Suicide by self-blinding and sea
0:45
Self-harm
The uncle describes someone stabbing their own eyes with a knife and jumping into the East Sea (동해). In Korean ghost lore, violent or anguished deaths — especially those involving self-destruction near water — are believed to produce the most restless and powerful spirits (원혼, a wronged soul). The East Sea is a real body of water off Korea's east coast, and has cultural weight as a place of no return.
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.
#
나눔의 손 (Sharing Hands) — fake charity front
1:25
나눔의 손 literally means 'Hands of Sharing.' Charitable-sounding organisation names like this are common in Korean civil society, which makes them useful cover in crime fiction. The drama uses the name to show how Park Il-do's network hides behind the respectable image of a welfare group, making it harder for outsiders to suspect anything sinister.
#
뺑소니 — hit-and-run crime
1:56
뺑소니 (ppaeng-so-ni) is the Korean word for a hit-and-run, literally carrying the sense of 'fleeing after striking.' It is treated as a serious criminal offence in Korea separate from the underlying traffic accident, with its own enhanced penalties. The stigma is especially heavy because leaving someone to die without calling for help is seen as a profound moral failure, not just a legal one.
#
Catholic exorcism rite (구마 의식)
19:48
구마 의식 is the Korean term for the Roman Rite of Exorcism used by Catholic priests. Father Yoon recites phrases drawn directly from the traditional Latin Rite translated into Korean — commanding evil spirits in the name of Jesus Christ and binding them. In Korea, Catholicism arrived in the late 18th century and has deep roots, so this formal Latin-derived ritual carries real institutional weight rather than feeling like a foreign import.
#
Priest's vow and loss of divine protection
23:27
The demon taunts Father Yoon that he broke his priestly vow (사제 서약) and will be expelled, losing God's protection. In Catholic belief, an exorcist's authority specifically comes from ordination and the Church's mandate — performing the rite without that backing is considered both spiritually dangerous and canonically forbidden. The drama uses this as a genuine theological pressure point rather than a dramatic invention.
#
씻김굿 — shamanistic cleansing ritual
27:34
씻김굿 (ssitgim-gut) is a traditional Korean shamanic ritual, most associated with the Jeolla region in the southwest, performed to cleanse a dead person's spirit of resentment and guide it peacefully to the afterlife. The name means roughly 'washing rite.' While Father Yoon represents Catholic exorcism, Yukwang represents this parallel native Korean tradition — the drama constantly places the two systems side by side.
#
급살 — a sudden, violent supernatural strike
30:30
급살 (geup-sal) literally means 'sudden killing force' and refers to a malevolent spiritual energy that strikes a person without warning, causing sudden illness or collapse. It is a concept from Korean folk belief and shamanistic tradition, distinct from ordinary illness. Yukwang uses this term to explain why Father Yoon must not get up — the energy that hit him needs to be neutralised before he moves.
#
Yukwang's hanbok at the auto repair shop
35:48
Yukwang is wearing a 한복 (hanbok), Korea's traditional clothing, which shamans and folk ritual practitioners often wear while working. His arrival at a modern roadside garage in full ritual dress is played for comedy — the terrified mechanic immediately calls the police. The contrast between sacred traditional attire and an ordinary commercial setting is a running source of dark humour in the show.
#
새벽 3시 — the 'devil's hour'
47:18
새벽 3시 (3 a.m.) is explained here as the time when evil spirits are at their strongest. This belief exists in both Korean folk tradition and, as Father Yoon hints, Christian theology — it is sometimes called the 'witching hour' or 'devil's hour,' seen as the inversion of 3 p.m., the traditional hour of Christ's death. Its appearance in a drama mixing Catholic and shamanistic worldviews is deliberate.
#
눌림 굿 — a ritual to suppress a spirit gift
57:36
눌림 굿 is a shamanic rite that 'presses down' or suppresses a person's innate ability to see spirits, essentially closing that channel. It is sometimes performed on children who are showing unwanted sensitivity. Hwapyeong agrees to have it done for Seoyun even though it means losing the only person who can identify Park Il-do by sight — a real sacrifice the characters debate openly.
#
부적 — a shamanic talisman
1:03:10
부적 (bujeok) are written talismans used in Korean folk religion to ward off evil or attract good fortune — red characters are brushed onto yellow paper in a specific ritual manner. Hwapyeong offers one to Father Yoon, a Catholic priest, creating an awkward but warm moment: a shamanistic charm pressed on a man whose faith formally rejects such objects. The show treats both traditions as genuinely protective rather than mocking either.
#
Invoking Park Il-do by name in ritual
1:10:12
The final scene shows a ritual in which Park Il-do's name is called out repeatedly alongside the sound of 방울 (bangul), the small bells shamans shake to summon or communicate with spirits. In Korean shamanic practice, directly naming a powerful spirit is both a way to draw it and a dangerous act — you must be prepared for it to answer. The scene signals that someone has deliberately called the demon forth.