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The significance of Honmun for Korean Spiritualism in KPOP DEMON HUNTERS

Previously, I wrote how this movie did an homage to the history of Korean music/pop when they were narrating the history of the demon hunters here. In this post I wanted to talk about an important plot element from this movie, the 혼문 (honmoon). For the record this term is NOT an actual thing in Korean spiritualism/shamanism/folklore, but it definitely was made with some aspects of that in mind.

FYI: Some stuff I might propose is pure speculation based on my own knowledge of Korean culture, and not something anyone in the KDH crew has said officially, so take it with a grain of salt. If there is any official interviews/info that do come out later down the line, the post will be updated. Also possible mild movie spoilers

First the word 혼문 itself is significant. It seems to be a mix of two different words: 영혼 (younghon) which is the word for soul/spirit, and 문 (moon) which is commonly the word for door (sometimes can be used to mean gate). So the literal meaning of honmoon is the "Soul door/gate." And it works, because the hunters sing to emotionally connect with their audience's/fans' souls, creating a mystical barrier to shut out the demons.

Using the 무당 (mudang) trio to demonstrate the early instances of making this honmoon with the hunters, as mentioned in my prev post, is not just coincidence. Mudang were important figures in Korean shamanism (Muism) and performed various rituals/rites for all kinds of people, many serving as spiritual guardians in their villages/community. The rites are called 굿 (gut) and the purpose of them range widely (there are also regional differences).

A common theme with the gut is that these are never PERMANENT. Many are done periodically to reinforce it. A good example is the 도당굿 (Dodang-gut), usually an annual/semiannual thing to ensure a village or a community continues to maintain its well-being and prosperity. This is no different from how each generation of demon hunters must perform to maintain the honmoon, otherwise their purpose would have been fulfilled by the first generation.

Speaking of how there are multiple generations of demon hunters, even that seems to be covered in the movie too. A woman can be a mudang via two ways: inheriting the business by bloodline aka 강신무 (Kangshinmu), or being initiated into it aka 세습무 (Seseummu). In the current generation of demon hunters we see today, Rumi is a reference to the Kangshinmu (her mother was the prev demon hunter) while Zoey and Mira are referring to Seseummu (recruited/trained by Celine). But the mudang today don't really differentiate themselves by what type they are so might be just a fun coincidence.

Going back to the honmoon, the movie seems to have a general set of colors to represent the honmoon's condition. By default it's blue, gold at the height of its power/function, and purple/red when weakened. I am not sure if the colors have much significance other than simple association (i.e. weakness is depicted in purple/reds since Gwi-ma and the demon underworld is that color) outside of gold, which associated with high status (but that's not just a Korea thing tbh). The one thing that is neat is at the end of the movie, the coveted "gold" color that Rumi and the girls wanted to achieve to reinforce the honmoon is not present at all. It is a wholly different iridescent color.

This too is significant since their performances, which are like big musical gut to help their world from demons, is breaking away from the usual tradition of hiding their insecurities and identities for duty. Hilariously enough muism thrive on building new traditions too. Mudang and muism are not like other organized religion in that there is no central leadership or clergy, and there is a lot of different variations on how a gut is performed. So a dodang-gut performed in the Chosun era would not be the same as a dodang-gut that is performed Korean village today, which would still have their own regional differences.

So whether on purpose or not, Kpop Demon Hunters really feel like a love letter to not just kpop but aspects of Korean culture that is not as well liked or known. Hope you enjoyed this post and let me know what else you might want, or point out any errors in my writing!

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old art... but I still like it.

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My art is available as a print signed by Chamber's voice actor, Hugo Pierre Martin!! You can snag it (and a couple other prints) via Streamily 💕

Hugo's a darling; for this specific print, the proceeds actually go directly to me!! I've been in a rough spot lately so this is a huge help. Please consider checking out all the prints, there are some really cool ones up for grabs!

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BE MAD BE SAD BUT DONT U DARE GIVE UP

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Jessica Rabbit

Art by Stephanie Pepper

Twitter | Inprnt

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The Raja

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You've gotta be fucking kidding me

You show up for your first day at Copyright-Free Magic School. As you're going through orientation, you're informed that all new students get a school-assigned familiar that they are responsible for housing and maintaining. The staff member assures you that your assigned familiar is appropriately chosen and reflects you in some way.

Spin this to find out yours. (Remember, you are responsible for maintaining this familiar in your dorm room.)

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Motherland

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One of my fav main, Sova💙🩵

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hell yeah brother

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how come nobody raps about the master emerald anymore

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MRS. CRUMPLEBOTTOM THE SIMS (dev. Maxis, 2000)