Cheoyongmu is a traditional Korean dance per formed by five masked dancers, each dressed in a robe of a different color. The five colors —blue, red, yellow, black, and white—define and express the character of the dance as they represent the ohaeng (五行) ideology of Korean tradition.

In the traditional society, on New Year’s Eve, the day before January 1st of the lunar calendar, the civilians and the royal court held a Narye ceremony to welcome the new year. Narye is an event to drive out the evil spirits of last year and pray for peace. In the private sector, green bamboos with nodes were burnt to make explosive sounds in order to frighten the evil spirits way from the house. Even in the royal court of the Joseon Dynasty, they wore a naryero mask and walked around the palace playing jegeum(Korean cymbals) and drums. This ceremony is the Cheoyongmu (meaning Dance of Cheoyong), a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Cheoyongmu is based on the Cheoyong tale. Records related to Cheoyong can be found in Samguk Yusa, the historical book. According to records, Cheoyong was a person during the reign of King Heongang of Unified Silla. Cheoyong discovers that while he was away from home, the spirit of plague comes and secretly slept with his wife. However, Cheoyong sang and danced and withdrew, and the spirit who repented of his mistake by Cheoyong’s attitude vowed not to appear before him again. Afterwards, in private houses, the image of Cheoyong was attached to the gate to ward off the bad spirits, and Cheoyong took on the meaning of driving out evil spirits and welcoming auspicious events. Because of this story, Cheoyongmu was an indispensable dance in the royal court narye. The current Cheoyongmu was prepared during the Joseon Dynasty and is performed by five male dancers. The dancers wear blue, white, red, black, and yellow robes and a Cheoyong mask decorated with tin earrings, peonies, and peach fruits on red skin. All of these decorative elements of the masks symbolize as the amulets of warding off the bad spirit and welcoming the auspicious events. Cheoyongmu has its origins in the aforementioned period of King Heongang of Unified Silla, and has been transmitted to this day. As the historical origin is long, it has rich artistry and value, and in recognition of this, it was registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009. Cheoyongmu has freely crossed between the civilian and the royal courts, spreading through in various forms such as dance, writing, and oral tradition, resulting in many changes and developments. Today, Cheoyong is recreated and enjoyed as a “living heritage” with various popular cultural contents such as creative dance, animation, and drama, and Cheoyong’s long vitality and symbolism are noteworthy. The reason is that court dance which had strict content and form and was an art for the few, is passively reproduced and slowly approaching the public as opposed to folk dances combined with various media and styles in modern society. In the past, before the development of science and medicine, in traditional societies that were vulnerable to natural disasters and diseases, amuletic events such as Cheoyongmu were held to prevent diseases and bad luck in the New Year. In modern society, amuletic rites are no longer held at the national and private level, but people today are living with the rites of passage for the new year, such as eating red bean porridge or ringing of the Bosingak bell. The new year is a time when hope and anxiety for the future intersect. Even if the way of living in the past and the present changes and the form and method of spending the old year and welcoming the new year are different, wishing for good luck will be the wind that runs through the century. I conclude this article with a speculation that these winds may be bringing life to the 21st century Cheoyong. photo : Cheoyongmu © Taewook Kim