CAS Sofia will host a lecture by Dr Irina Sotirova and Dr Strahil Panayotov on Wednesday, 10 June 2026, at 16:30 at CAS Sofia.

Ghosts: Interdisciplinary Dialogue on Similarities and Differences between Mesopotamia and South Korea

Abstract: Ghosts, the disembodied remains of the dead, have accompanied the living in Mesopotamia since the mythical creation of humankind and are attested on cuneiform tablets from at least 2500 BCE. They were normal phenomenon, and remained a central concern of medical, ritual, and scholarly activity well into the Hellenistic period, after the death of Alexander the Great in Babylon in 323 BC. Mesopotamian texts describe ghosts as literally “a pain in the neck,” entering the human body through the ears and inflicting illnesses, yet also as bearers of superior knowledge who can reveal the future. When a person dies violently, receives no proper burial, or the offerings are neglected, these ghosts become malevolent, return to the realm of the living, and torment humans.

Korean traditions, though much later, show striking parallels. Ghosts can be protective companions or dangerous, vengeful beings, and this ambivalence has generated a rich complex of rituals that remains vibrant today. Contemporary South Korea is one of the most spiritually active societies, where animism, fortune‑telling, and an array of “superstitions” with deep historical roots flourish alongside rapid technological development. Far from disappearing, the veneration and fear of ghosts have secured a lasting place in business, politics, medicine, everyday decision‑making, and concepts of social order.

Mesopotamian texts offer the most extensive written record on ghosts from the ancient Old World, while South Korea represents an ultra‑modern nation still deeply shaped by very old beliefs. The comparison of these two contexts highlights how remarkably similar ideas about ghosts can arise in vastly different societies, pointing to possible universal features of human imagination and the ways communities negotiate death, memory, and the unseen.

Bio: Irina Sotirova is Associate Professor in the Department of Korean Studies at Sofia University. Her research focuses on classical texts and the transmission of knowledge along the Silk Road, with particular emphasis on the circulation of astronomical knowledge and astrological beliefs between East and West. She is also the Bulgarian translator of Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms (Samguk Yusa), a foundational thirteenth-century Korean historical source that preserves a rich collection of Buddhist narratives, legends, and mythological traditions.