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[National Intangible Cultural Heritage, Republic of Korea] Talchum (Mask Dance) is a stage play in which one person or people wearing a mask takes the role of a person, animal or a supernatural being (god), delivering a message through dialogues or dances. Talchum was performed throughout the country until the early Joseon Period. After the Sandae (a type of mask dance) came no longer to be performed in the Royal Palace in 1634 (the 12th year of King Injong’s reign), it was still enjoyed as a pastime by ordinary people. Eunyul Talchum was performed for 2-3 days on Dano (May 5 in the lunar calendar), Buddha’s birthday (April 8), and on Baekjung (July 15). It is said that people who fled to islands during war 200-300 years before wore masks on their return home as they felt ashamed, and that was the origin of Eunyul Talchum. Eunyul Talchum is composed of six acts, Lion Dance, Sangjwa Dance, Mokjung Dance, Old Monk Dance, and Dance of the Old Couple. Prior to the performance, the troupe held a sacrificial rite in a forest and marched to the site of the performance, entertaining people along the road. There are a total of 28 characters appearing on the performance. The play included satires about nobles harassing commoners, depraved monks, and male chauvinism in the custom of allowing a man to take plural wives. Eunyul Talchum displays a relationship with Bongsan Talchum (Mask Dance of Bongsan) and Haeju Talchum (Mask Dance of Haeju), both of which stem from Hwanghaedo Talchum (Mask Dance of Hwanghae-do).

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[National Intangible Cultural Heritage, Republic of Korea] Yaryu is a custom of Ogwangdae (mask dance drama) that was first performed in the inland areas of Gyeongsangnam-do but spread to Suyeong, Dongnae, and Busanjin. Yaryu literally means playing in an open field. This mask play was performed by non-professionals like villagers. Dongnae Yaryu was performed on the evening of the full moon of January 15 on the lunar calendar, supposedly to pray for a good year for crops. Dongnae Yaryu was said to have been started about 100 years ago after its cousin performed in nearby Suyeong. Now performed as an entertainment, it is composed of four acts: leper dance, gag exchanged between a yangban (nobleman) and Malttugi (servant), Yeongno (therianthropic character)’s dance, and old couple’s dance. Members of the troupe march to the site of performance while playing music. The main subject of the performance is a satire about nobles. The masks are made of gourds. The chin part of the masks is made movable, moving upward and downward while its wearer delivers a gag. The play is performed to the accompaniment of percussion instruments, which play exorcist music. Malttugi’s dance and nobleman’s dance are the leading performances. Obangsin (Deities of the Five Directions)’s dance, satire about deprave monks, and lion dance -- which are usually included in Ogwangdae mask dance drama -- are not performed in Dongnae Yaryu.

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[National Intangible Cultural Heritage, Republic of Korea] Ogwangdae refers to a form of traditional folk performance developed in the southern part of Korea including Tongyeong, hence the name Tongyeong Ogwangdae. Initially, Tongyeong Ogwangdae was performed on the eve of the Daeboreum (full moon of the 15th day of the first lunar month), but it gradually came to be performed on other festive days in spring and autumn. Some specialists claim that Tongyeong Ogwangdae originated from a form developed in Changwon Ogwangdae (Mask Dance Drama of Changwon) about a century ago - either by a group of local entertainers or Yi Hwa-seon, an Ogwandae player who moved from Changwon to Tongyeong. Each performance of Tongyeong Ogwangdae is composed of five episodes in which a total of 31 players play diverse characters by donning masks intended to represent them, including Leper, Malttugi, First Yangban, Second Yangban, Hongbaek Yangban, Faltering Yangban, Pockmarked Yangban, Black Yangban, Jorijung, Eight Heavenly Maids, Yeongno, Yeongnong Yangban, Halmi, Jeja Gaksi, Sangjwa, Blind Man, Sangju, Hunter, Mongdori, Lion, and Dambi. Each episode is focused on the complicated relationships between commoners and their views on Korean society and the ruling class. The words exchanged between the characters are typically barbed with sharp satire, effectively mocking the absurdity and hypocrisy of Confucian aristocrats and Buddhist monks. Tongyeong Ogwangdae is also famous for some of its dances, and most particularly the Leper’s Dance, which convincingly expresses the bitter life of a leper, and is also the only Ogwangdae troupe to present the Lion Dance during its performance. Tongyeong Ogwangdae is inscribed on Korea’s list of Important Intangible Cultural Heritages.

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[National Intangible Cultural Heritage, Republic of Korea] Talchum (mask dance) was performed across the country up to the early Joseon Period (1392 – 1910). Gangnyeong Talchum (Mask Dance Drama of Gangneung) is a type of Sandae Dogamgeuk, which was performed at the Royal Palace. After the mask dance drama came to be no longer performed there by 1634 (the 12th year of King Injo’s reign), it was still enjoyed as a pastime by ordinary people. The Mask Dance Drama of Gangnyeong is performed on Dano (May 5 on the lunar calendar) in Gangnyeong-eup, Hwanghaenam-do, and dates perhaps from the late Joseon Period. The event is composed of seven acts, Lion Dance, Malttugi Dance, Mokjung Dance, Sangjwa Dance, Dance of the Nobleman and Malttugi, Dance of Chwibari and the Old Monk, and Dance of the Old Couple. Prior to the performance, the 20 members of the troupe march, playing music to entertain spectators along the road. The play includes satire about such issues as nobles harassing commoners, depraved monks, and male chauvinism as shown in the custom of allowing a man to take plural wives. Dance movements are slow. The main dance is Jangsamchum (Long Sleeve Dance). The rhythms used are dodeuri, taryeong, and jajin gutgeori. Thirty-plus types of narration are used, each of them using its unique rhythm. The parts concerning three brothers of a noble family talking about the essentials of the noble class or calling Malttugi, or Malttugi’s gag are similar to those of Ogwangdae (Mask Dance Drama) of Gyeongnam-do. The scene of an old female clown turning a spinning wheel is similar to that of Ogwangdae of Gasan. These similarities have a very important significance in the handing-down of mask dance in the country. Performers wearing masks displaying realistic facial expressions and engaging in elegant and slow dancing movements are features of Gangnyeong Talchum, which distinguish it from Bongsan Talchum, another kind of mask dance performed in Hwanghae-do.

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[National Intangible Cultural Heritage, Republic of Korea] Yaryu is a custom of Ogwangdae (mask dance drama) that was first performed in inland areas of Gyeongsangnam-do but spread to Suyeong, Dongnae, and Busanjin. Yaryu literally means playing in an open field. This mask play was performed by non-professionals such as villagers. Suyeong Yaryu is performed by villagers when the full moon rises on the night of January 15 on the lunar calendar after holding a sacrificial rite for mountain guardian deities, village spring water, and the spirit of General Choe Yeong. Two hundred years ago, a naval commander had a troupe of clowns in Bamma-ri, Chogye (present-day Yulji-ri, Deokgok-myeon, Hapcheon-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do) play a round of merrymaking for his troops in a naval compound. This is said to have been the origin of Suyeong Yaryu. The performance is composed of four acts: Nobleman’s Dance, Yeongno Dance, Dance of an Old Couple, and Lion Dance. Prior to the play, the troupe marches, playing music, to entertain spectators along the road to the site of performance. At the end of the performance, they collect the masks used and burn them as a rite of praying for the peace of the village. Characters appearing in the performance are 11 in all, four from the noble family, a son of the head of a clan, Malttugi (a servant), Yeongno (a therianthropic character), an old woman, a concubine of an old man, a lion, and a tiger. The performance includes a satire about nobles and deals with the problem of concubines. In contrast with the other Yaryu, it does not have a leper dance, but it does include a lion dance, which is missing from the other Yaryu. Suyeong Yaryu is a play performed by masked performers. It is a ritual and satirical play with artistic quality performed by villagers.

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[National Intangible Cultural Heritage, Republic of Korea] Yangju Byeolsandae Nori is one of the Sandae Dogam performed by itinerary troupes based in Seoul and the capital region. Consisting of dance, pantomime, well-wishing remarks, and acrobatics, it originated about 200 years ago and came to be performed during holidays and seasonal festivals such as the Buddha’s Birthday, Dano Festival, and Chuseok (Harvest Moon Festival on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month) and during ritual prayers for rainfall. Yangju Byeolsandae Nori is known to have originated from the mask dances performed by the Sajikgol Ttakttagipae group in Seoul. Each performance consists of eight episodes, which were often preceded by a parade in which performers wearing masks would dance around a town playing music, and hold a rite consisting of prayers for the safety of its residents. The main event was essentially a satire of Korean society with 32 characters representing different social groups and stereotypes, including depraved monks, impoverished aristocrats, shamans, buffoons, servants, and commoners.

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[National Intangible Cultural Heritage, Republic of Korea] Mask dance is a stage play wherein one person or several people wearing a mask act as a person, an animal, or a supernatural being (god), delivering a message with dialogues or dances. Talchum (mask dance) was performed throughout the country until the early Joseon Period. When the Sandae (type of mask dance) was no longer performed in the Royal Palace, it was enjoyed as a pastime by ordinary people. Bongsan Talchum was started in Bongsan-gun, Hwanghae-do about 200 years ago. Performed on the night of Dano (fifth day of the fifth lunar month) and Haji (Summer Solstice), it is composed of dances associated with four monks, eight monks in black robe, a female member of a troupe, an old monk, a nobleman, and an old wife. Prior to the start of the play, the 36 members of the play (27 of them wearing masks) march to the site of the play while playing music. They also hold a sacrificial rite. The play contains satire about nobles harassing commoners, depraved monks, male chauvinism in a custom of allowing a man to take many wives, etc. Members dance to the tune of praying to Buddha, taryeong (Korean folk song), and gutgeori rhythm songs accompanied by the playing of samhyeon yukgak (three strings and six wind instruments) such as piri (flute), jeotdae (bamboo flute), haegeum (two-stringed fiddle), buk (drum), and janggo (hourglass-shaped drum). As the best known among the mask dances handed down in Hwanghae-do, Bongsan Talchum displays the lively movements of dancers including the shaking of the sleeves of the robes.

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[National Intangible Cultural Heritage, Republic of Korea] Goseong Ogwangdae, whose name is known to have originated from traditional belief in the Five Elements, is a form of traditional folk performance developed in the southern part of Korea including Goseong, hence the name. Initially, Goseong Ogwangdae was performed by the Ogwangdae troupe on the eve of the Daeboreum (full moon of the 15th day of the first lunar month), but it gradually came to be performed on other festive days in spring and autumn as well. Goseong Ogwangdae can be traced back to the 1910s when a group of masked dancers in the Namchon Sect happened to watch a performance of the Tongyeong Ogwangdae (Mask Dance Drama of Tongyeong) which inspired them to develop their own version. It was later influenced by the Changwon Ogwangdae (Mask Dance Drama of Changwon), too, when it developed five dances to form each episode, namely, the Leper’s Dance, Ogwangdae Dance, Monk’s Dance, Bibi Dance, and Jemilju Dance. These dances are presented by a total of nineteen characters including Leper, Malttugi, Won Yangban, Cheongje Yangban, Jeokje Yangban, Baekje Yangban, Heukje Yangban, Hongbaek Yangban, Jongga Doryeong, Bibi, Bibi Yangban, Monk, Bride, Old Man, Old Woman, Jemilju, and Servant. Each performance focuses on the life of commoners, the complex relations between people from different rungs of society, and the absurdity and hypocrisy of Confucian aristocrats and Buddhist priests. Unlike the performances by other Owangdae troupes, its dances lack elements of the shaman’s dance, which was performed to expel evil forces, and instead include more entertaining elements. Performers of Tongyeong Ogwangdae wore paper masks in its early days, but recently they have begun to use masks made of paulownia wood or gourds. Tongyeong Ogwangdae is now inscribed on the list of Important Intangible Cultural Heritages.

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[National Intangible Cultural Heritage, Republic of Korea] Sandae Nori refers to a mask dance performed in the central region of Korea. It is part of Sandae Dogamgeuk, which used to be performed in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do. It is composed of dances, pantomime, and gags, and is performed on the lunar calendar dates of Daeboreum (January 15), Dano (May 5), Baekjung (July 15), and Chuseok (August 15). Songpa was a commercial center of Gyeonggi-do. It is said that the play was frequently performed at the time Songpa Market reached its prime about 200 years ago and has continued to develop and to be one handed down to the present day. The play is composed of seven acts. Prior to the commencement of the play, members of the troupe march, playing music, to the site of performance to entertain spectators along the way. The overall composition, dances, and masks used are similar to those of Yangju Byeonsandae Nori (Mask Dance Drama of Yangju), but certain masks, dances, and characters distinguish it from the other. In Songpa Sandae Nori, 33 masks made of gourd, pine skin, and paper are used.