Prolégomènes à l'étude des amulettes et talismans coréens

Amulets and talismans are here considered following their anthropological definition, which comprises not only the common paper charm variety as the Korean word pujok would imply, but covers all magical devices and symbols meant to protect from negative andj'or attract positive influences. Korean amulets and talismans have not so far been approached in this perspective, and the basic coordinates of the phenomenon as a field of study therefore remain to be established. By clearing up the semantical discrepancy between native and Western terms, by showing the richness of forms and materials these magical forces may inhabit, the way they protect body and house, the wishes they incarnate, by proposing some elements of classification, this article tries to give shape, and draw attention, to a great mass of ethnographical material that has yet to be analyzed.