Spirit Power: Politics and Religion in Korea’s American Century

In Spirit Power: Politics and Religion in Korea’s American Century, Heonik Kwon and Jun Hwan Park recount their “magical” encounter with the spirit of Douglas MacArthur. During a shamanic rite (kut) conducted by a shaman interlocutor in Incheon, one of South Korea’s largest cities and home to a displaced form of shamanism from the Hwanghae region that lies in today’s North Korea, the authors extended their greetings to the American general. What followed left the authors momentarily perplexed. MacArthur “suddenly burst into tears and said that he was happy to meet [Kwon and Park], too” (154). Later, the shaman explained to the authors that the general was “‘happy that at long last, some people came and gave him full recognition [as General MacArthur].’” This evocative anecdote, delivered toward the conclusion of the book, lifts up two questions that the authors use to unlock this book’s capacious and...