Great Journeys of The World. Accompanies the Major TV Series by Various

Author:Various
Language: eng
Format: epub

In 1928, however, the occupying Japanese stopped this tradition in their quest to extinguish Korean culture. There were no more Byulshin kuts until a group of young people tried to stage one about thirty years ago. They found that they couldn’t do it all -only the play with the masks. Although outsiders call it a masked dance, it used to be a religious ceremony and therefore a kut; but now it is only the play element which is performed, and so its character has changed. It is now merely a way of preserving Korean culture - the masked dance was designated a National Treasure in 1965.

The masks are wonderfully carved: each one reflects a Korean expression typical of a particular social level in Yi Dynasty society; this dynasty lasted from 1392 to 1910 and was heavily influenced by Confucian thought introduced from China. Originally the masks were considered holy, and sacrifices had to be made to them before and after they were worn. One of the reasons for the superstition surrounding them was that they appeared to reflect the wearer’s emotion — if he laughed, so did his mask. This is because of the clever way the jaws are attached: if the wearer lowers his head, for instance, the mask frowns, and if he raises his head the mask laughs. It was believed that if a mask was touched arbitrarily a disaster would happen — tai nanda is a Korean expression reflecting this. Nine of the original masks are preserved in the Seoul National Museum; and although three are lost, two of another kind are also exhibited there. The masks continue to be carved exactly like the originals, but only those are considered sacred now. When I asked how often the masks have to be replaced, Mr Kim told me that they last a long time and are only replaced when it is considered that the expression has faded and no longer looks like the original.

I was taken through the village to a nobleman’s house belonging to the family of a famous President, Yu: the large houses with tiled roofs, it was explained to me, belonged to nobles, while the smaller houses with thatched roofs belonged to their servants. The masked dance was performed in front of the President’s house to the accompaniment of the four-piece farmers’ band which I had found out about earlier. The dance was very colourful and consisted of several different scenes, mostly mocking the ruling classes. The Yangban (nobles) must have been extremely tolerant — they paid for the villagers to enjoy this dance, although they never attended themselves. They must have been aware, however, that the dances were directed against them.

I wish I could say I enjoyed my trip to Hahoe, but to be honest the tackiness depressed me. Everywhere I turned there was either a cafe or a souvenir shop, and the signs of modem life, from electricity to mobile phones, detracted from the authenticity I was expecting. Although the dance was interesting, it was clearly a reconstruction rather than a living thing in its own right.

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