The European Union Chamber of Commerce in Korea held a special event last week by inviting Korean shamans to wish for good luck for its member companies this year.

The event was organized with several intentions, first to strengthen the EUCCK’s relationship with Korean society by showing their respect for a piece of the country’s history and culture.

“Today it was a momentous moment because I had comments from people who had attended this kind of ceremony for tourists and felt how authentic it was, even myself, I really felt that it was very special and a lot in truth in what we saw,” said EUCCK president Jean-Luc Valerio.

The ceremony was held during the Feb. 6 “daeboreum” or great full moon festival, a Korean holiday that celebrates the first full moon of the lunar new year.

During the ceremony, a shaman priestess communicated with the spirit world to ensure harmony between the attendants, namely members of the chamber, local officials from the private and public sector, diplomats and guests.

Throughout the priestess’ trance, guests were enthralled by the well-wishing she conveyed to everyone for a successful, healthy and happy upcoming year.

Korean shamanism is very unique as it has been combined with other influences such as Confucianism, Buddhism and Christianity.

In its fourth year, the event was held at Mingadaheon (Min’s club) for the first time, which helped create a positive atmosphere for networking, public relations and general good times.

“It makes everybody happy and it’s a way also for people to discover a nice place and I’m sure these people will come back,” Valerio told The Korea Herald.

Min’s Club is located in a historical hanok in the center of the nation’s capital and has been remodeled to house a fusion style restaurant.

Valerio also tried his hand at having his fortune told and was somewhat surprised to be told he needs to watch his weight and exercise, something that his doctor told him to do six months ago.

“She told me exactly what my doctor said without any blood test,” he said with a smile.

By Yoav Cerralbo (yoav@heraldcorp.com)