Becoming Stones: Simbang 神房 (2024)

The film Simbang (60 min) explores the process of spiritual recovery in the aftermath of the 4.3 Massacre. Combining found footage – taken by American military forces during the massacre – with documentation of rituals held at various locations across the Jeju island (South Korea).

On Jeju island, the word “심방” (Simbang; 神房) refers to a shaman. “神” (sim) means spirit, and “房” (bang) means space or room, translating directly into a spirit room or spirit space. In the film, the camera follows all steps of the ritual being held; calling forth gods and spirits, welcoming them on land and underwater, serving offerings, playing music and dancing, communicating, purging evil energies from the spirit and clients, and sending the spirits away back to their realm. 

During these rituals, 18,000 gods of the Jeju myth and the life stories of the people who died in 1948, weave together a history of their sorrow and violence, enabling trauma process. The physical, psychic and emotional impacts of trauma go beyond the limits of the dominant historical archive and its knowledge.