Kim Keum-hwa was born in 1931 in Yeonbaek, Hwanghae-do. She fell ill at the age of twelve with mubyeong (shaman’s disease). Then, at the age of seventeen, she received Naerim-Gut (initiation ritual) from Kim Cheon-il who was an established shaman and her grandmother on her mother’s side. Kim Keum-hwa had a lot of experience while accompanying shamans who were conducting gut (rituals). Two years later, she was recognized for her skills which were good enough to single-handedly perform Daedong-Gut (the largest ritual to help a village’s wealth and well-being) and started an independent practice as a shaman. At twenty, when the Korean War broke out in 1950, she took refuge and worked in Incheon. She moved to Seoul in the midst of Saemaul Undong (New Community Movement) and the Anti-Superstition Movement led by the Korean government. She was first covered by the press in 1967 when she won an individual award with her performance of Yeonpeyong Song and Baeyeonsin-Gut at the National Folk Competition. In 1982, she started to be paid international attention after her performance in the US for the 100th anniversary of Korea-US amity. Since then, she has taken over all the shamanistic rituals for the country as a leading shaman. Later, she was invited for performance tours and lectures to many foreign countries including Spain, Russia, Austria, France, Germany, China, Italy, and Japan. Through this, she has widely promoted the religious, artistic, and cultural value of Korean gut. When Levi Strauss came to Korea, he paid a special visit to Kim Keum-hwa’s Mansudaetak-Gut. In 1985, Kim was designated the skill holder of Korea’s important intangible cultural property with Seohaean Baeyeonsin-Gut and Daedong-Gut. In 1995, at the age of sixty five, she conducted the opening performance for the celebratory ceremony for the 3rd anniversary of Korea-China amity, and staged Kim Keum-hwa Daedong-Gut at Hoam Art Center (Seoul). She staged countless performances of gut both in Korea and abroad, including Daedong-Gut at the top of Baekdu Mountain and Jinhon-Gut for the repose of the famous composer Yun I-sang’s soul in Berlin, Germany. Currently, she is working hard to train the younger generation and to hand down Korean shamanistic culture at “Keumhwadang (Seohaean Pungeo-Gut training center)” established on Ganghwa Island in 2005. She authored books including Kim Keum-hwa’s Shaman Song Collections (1995) and Share Blessings and Relieve Grief (1995).
