Clients have drifted away from Song Oh-soon's fortune-telling village on the edge of Seoul, preferring online AI-powered divination to the centuries-old prophesying tradition still practised there.
At 86, Song is one of the last members of a community of visually impaired practitioners that drew generations of South Koreans seeking answers and advice about everything from illness and money to love and fate.
In one of the world's most AI-connected societies, the village's greatest challenge is not fading belief in fortune-telling, but the way it is consumed.
Song remains adamantly offline, relying on the "Four Pillars of Destiny" astrology in braille and on her four decades of experience in careful listening — a skill her automated competition cannot match.
"There were people who came here wanting to die," Song told AFP in northern Seoul's Mia village. "I persuaded them to keep living."
"I also once wanted to die, but I found this work and survived."
Today, silence is often Song's only visitor. The community was once home to 70 or 80 practitioners, but fewer than 20 remain.
Many have died. Their shops down narrow alleys sit dark behind faded signs advertising "traditional fortune-telling houses".
"When I go outside for a walk, it's quiet," Song said in her tiny room that serves as both home and consulting space. "It feels lonely."
Figures show South Korea's fortune-telling business is growing — worth 1.4 trillion won ($986 million) as of 2024, according to startup analysis firm InnoForest.
Many now turn to mobile apps and artificial intelligence chatbots such as ChatGPT and Gemini for readings, a survey by market researcher Embrain said this year.
Occasionally, though, someone still seeks out a human intervention.
University professor Oh Ji-hye for years walked past the village without going inside, opting instead for AI readings during her commute.
Only recently, anxious about her career, did she turn to Song for a phone consultation.
"It felt good that someone rather than AI was concentrating on and listening to my story," the 44-year-old said.
