Mother Goddesses Worship religion introduced in South Korea.

The event was held by the Vietnamese Women’s Museum in collaboration with the Vietnamese Cultural Centre in South Korea under the sponsorship of the Vietnamese Embassy in the South Korea. At the exhibition, the organising board introduced general information on the Mother Goddesses Worship belief to visitors.
According to Le Thuy Trang, first secretary of the Vietnam Embassy, the exhibition not only introduces a unique Vietnamese worship to international friends but also brings Vietnamese expatriates closer to home.
Visitors to the exhibition also had the chance to attend a 2-hour “lên đồng” (going into a trance) ritual, which is the major part in practising the worship. The audience was so captivated by the performance that they joined the dances with the performers.
The highlight of the event was an attractive and colourful performance of hau dong (spirit mediumship) – the most important part in the belief. Artist Tran Thi Kim Hue and others from Nam Dinh province, which is considered as the spiritual centre of the Mother Goddess religion, attracted numerous visitors.
Through photos of the belief’s rituals, as well as costumes and the tools used in hau dong, our international friends could learn more about the meaning and development of Mother Goddesses Worship in Vietnam.
The exhibition in Seoul not only contributed to promoting the unique religion of Vietnam to foreigners but also helped Vietnamese people overseas to feel closer to their motherland.
According to the Director of Vietnamese Women’s Museum Nguyen Thi Bich Van, this was the first time the museum had introduced the belief of Mother Goddesses Worship to a foreign country since the belief was first recognised by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage of humans in 2016. The museum plans to organise several more exhibitions of the heritage in France and England in the near future.