'Is your dad a cult member?' — A shaman father's heartbreak over his fifth-grade son

by Choi Won-hyuck

Published : June 8, 2026 - 09:32:01

A shaman with 26 years in the profession opens up about the guilt he carries toward his young son.

On Monday's episode of KBS Joy's "Ask Us Anything," a 60-year-old shaman who goes by the name Ilwolseongshin visits the show's hosts with a worry close to his heart: that his occupation could hurt his young son.

Having practiced shamanism for 26 years, he said his fifth-grade son once told his friends that his father was a shaman — only to be asked whether that made him a member of a cult.

"When my son asked me what a cult was, I felt my heart collapse," he confessed. "It hurt even more because I cannot change the path I have chosen."

He said his son grew up inside the shrine from an early age and came to understand his father's work naturally. "It's not the job itself I worry about — it's that my child might be hurt by other people's prejudice," he said.

The weight on his chest grew heavier after he told his son to hold back from mentioning his father's profession in public, only for the boy to ask: "Does that mean it's OK to lie?"

Comedian Lee Su-geun, who heard the story, responded by sharing his own childhood memories.

Lee, who was raised by a shaman mother, said he once got in trouble at school for writing "shaman" in the box asking for a parent's occupation. He offered words of reassurance, saying that with time the son would find his own way of coming to terms with it. "I hope you don't worry too deeply about it just yet," he said.

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