Involuntary spirit sensitivity that arrives unbidden and draws some of the afflicted to the Jeopsindanja. The Danja treat it as a real calling and teach control rather than power.
What it is
Shinbyeong is involuntary spiritual sensitivity. The afflicted start seeing the dead without trying, hearing them, and feeling them constantly. There is no way to shut it out on their own. In the old world, before the Fracturing, this was the mark of someone called to be a mediator. In the present world, where the dead are everywhere, it happens more often and hits harder.
Symptoms
- Seeing the dead without intending to.
- Hearing them.
- Feeling their presence constantly.
- Disorientation and illness, with no way to close off the perception.
How the Danja respond
The Danja treat Shinbyeong as a real calling. Recruits who come through it receive support and structure. The training gives them control over their perception, letting them open and close it by choice instead of drowning in it. For these recruits the training is about managing what is already present, not gaining power.
Shinbyeong-called Danja often have a natural strength in Haninshik (Han reading) and Gisaeng channeling that trained practitioners have to work years to develop. The spirits already know them and the door is already open; the Danja teach them how to use it.
See also
Source: Danja Manuscript (Deep Lore).md, “The Shinbyeong” (= ETK Lore Bible (retired), “The Shinbyeong”).