Actor Choi Min-sik brings to fore charisma of shamanistic practitioners in Exhuma

SEOUL – A veteran South Korean actor with 35 years’ experience in films and TV, Choi Min-sik sought to bring to the screen the charisma of Korean practitioners of shamanistic beliefs – such as geomancers – to push people to think about how their perceptions of land impact society in his first occult film.

Directed by the master of K-occult Jang Jae-hyun, Exhuma follows the story of a skilled fengshui specialist (Choi), an undertaker (Yoo Hae-jin) and two shaman exorcists (Kim Go-eun and Lee Do-hyun), who try to find a new resting place for a deceased person for a hefty sum of money. Choi’s character Sang-deok is instructed to find the optimal site to relocate the grave to.

The supernatural mystery thriller – showing in Singapore cinemas – has grossed over US$67 million (S$90 million) from more than nine million admissions, making it the highest-grossing South Korean film released in 2024.

Choi, 62, decided to do an occult flick because he saw potential in South Korean writer-director Jang to cinematically interpret metaphysical concepts, such as religious beliefs.

“I liked the way Jang’s ideals and values were fused into his works,” said the award-winning star best known for his role in action thriller Oldboy (2003).

“Jang’s works depict his subjective motifs and ideas regarding metaphysical and supernatural concepts. While his previous works, such as The Priests (2015) and Svaha: The Sixth Finger (2019), could be seen as maniacally portraying his beliefs, Exhuma explores such themes in a softer, more flexible and more entertaining fashion.”

Choi added he chose to participate in Exhuma due to the familiarity he felt with Korean shamanism and the role that it and other spiritual practices still play in modern society.

“For example, when I was 10 years old, I survived a life-threatening bout of tuberculosis. Even when the doctors had given up, my mother went to a Buddhist temple and prayed and, strangely, I got better,” said Choi.

“I feel like such a miracle happened because of my mother’s dedication, rather than her prayers to deities. In our lives, there are aspects that we cannot logically or rationally comprehend. Such emotions and customs still exist today. For me, practices like fengshui and shamanistic rituals are familiar and enjoyable,” he added.

To play the role of a seasoned fengshui specialist, Choi tried to mimic the charisma fengshui practitioners and shamans demonstrate when engaged in their work.

“The notion that one must have a profound perspective when observing nature has always lingered in my mind. Shamans and individuals engaged in spiritual practices sometimes have moments when their gaze suddenly changes. I remember witnessing that,” said Choi.

“I think fengshui specialists rely on spiritual intuition and a spiritual connection with nature, in identifying auspicious and inauspicious lands. In scenes where Sang-deok is observing things, I tried to shift modes and to express Sang-deok feeling every cell in his body coming alive,” he added.

Choi argued that Exhuma is more than just a ghost movie or a horror film, “not made to simply entertain”.

“It is rather a film that cinematically incites contemplation on the way humans perceive land, along with how land, spirits, ghosts and gods might influence society,” he said. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK