AI Upends Seoul's Traditional Blind Fortune-Tellers as Elderly Practitioner Defends Human Touch
Bastillepost · 1 SOURCESabout 3 hours ago2 MIN
Summary
A traditional fortune-telling village for visually impaired practitioners on the outskirts of Seoul is facing an existential crisis as AI-powered divination services proliferate across South Korea. The once-thriving community has seen its clientele evaporate as younger Koreans turn to smartphone apps and AI chatbots for quick answers about fate and fortune. Song Oh-soon, 86, stands as one of the last defenders of this centuries-old tradition, refusing to go online while relying on braille texts and four decades of accumulated wisdom to serve her remaining customers.
Key Points
- The traditional "fortune-telling village" in northern Seoul once had 70-80 visually impaired fortune-tellers, but fewer than 20 remain today
- Song Oh-soon, 86, has been practicing since age 16 and arrived at the village in 1984; she charges 50,000 won (HK$279) per session
- South Korea's fortune-telling industry reached 14 trillion won (US$986 million) in 2024, yet traditional practitioners face unprecedented competition from free AI services
- Embrain research shows Koreans increasingly rely on mobile apps and AI chatbots like ChatGPT for divination advice
- Song believes her value lies in providing genuine human listening and emotional support, having once talked a suicidal visitor out of ending their life
Why It Matters
The decline of Seoul's blind fortune-tellers illustrates how AI disruption extends beyond white-collar jobs to affect culturally significant professions rooted in personal connection . As Hong Kong and other Asian societies grapple with rapid technological change, Song's story raises questions about which human experiences are truly replaceable—and what we lose when specialized knowledge disappears from communities .
The decline of Seoul's blind fortune-tellers illustrates how AI disruption extends beyond white-collar jobs to affect culturally significant professions rooted in personal connection . As Hong Kong and other Asian societies grapple with rapid technological change, Song's story raises questions about which human experiences are truly replaceable—and what we lose when specialized knowledge disappears from communities .