RASKB holds lecture on shamanist paintings

The Royal Asiatic Society Korea Branch is restarting its regular lectures in Seoul on Sept. 10 with a talk on shamanistic paintings.

Boudewijn Walraven, who is editor of the Sugkyun Journal of East Asian Studies and the author of “The Songs of the Shaman: The Ritual Chants of the Korean Mudang,” will talk about the folk paintings used at Korean shamanistic shrines.

He will explain how the paintings each have their own character and the relationships that shamans have with them.

The talk runs in the Resident’s Lounge at Somerset Palace from 7:30-9:30 p.m. and is free for RASKB members and 7,000 won for nonmembers.

The RASKB is also running a tour of pottery kilns around Icheon in Gyeonggi Province on Sept. 14. The area is famous for traditional ceramics and the tour will visit several kilns to learn about different aspects of pottery, including wood fired kilns, Bunchong ware, and carving and cutting techniques.

The tour runs 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and costs 45,000 won for RASKB members and 54,000 won for nonmembers. Reservation is required by Sept. 11. Visit www.raskb.com for more details.

(paulkerry@heraldcorp.com)