탈춤

Talchum (Korean: 탈춤; IPA: [ˈtʰa̠(ː)ʎt͡ɕʰum]; lit. 'mask dance') is a Korean dance performed while wearing a mask, and often involves singing and dancing. Although the term talchum is usually taken to mean all mask dance dramas by most Koreans, it is strictly speaking a regional term originally only applied to dances of Hwanghae Province in present-day North Korea. Dances from the Seoul or Gyeonggi province region are known as sandae noli, whereas dances from the southern coast are known as yayu (야유), which means "field play", or Obangsinjang, which means "dance of five gods". However, talchum is nowadays accepted as a general term for mask dance drama. The dances also feature drama and story, as masked characters portray people, animals, and even supernatural beings. These folk dramas often reflected the frustrations felt by the lower classes towards the elite yangban. In 2022, Talchum was inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, highlighting both its local importance and global significance. ²

It is a theory that the origin of the masquerade is the agricultural consciousness held by farmers for good farming since ancient times. The appearance of agricultural consciousness is well illustrated in burak-gut such as Seonang-gut that remains today. According to the theory of agricultural consciousness, masks made by imitating the face of God were gradually changed into masks that resemble humans, and Gut to magically solve conflicts with nature was transformed into an artistic expression of social conflicts, resulting in a masquerade. The conversion of the Nongak band into a musician or the fact that the audience of the masquerade intervenes in the progress of the play are considered traditions that come down from the stage of Seonang-gut. The variegated (雜色) play of the Nongak band shows the blindness of the masquerade, and the Hahoebyulsingut mask game and the Gangneung Gwanno mask game (陵 government 奴) mask game were mask plays that did not completely escape the form of a gut, and since the agricultural consciousness was an event of farmers, the masquerade grew into a people's play from the beginning. ²

It is a theory that instrumental music (伎), which was learned by Baekje man Mimaji (味摩) in the Southern Dynasties of China and passed it on to Japan, is the origin of masquerade. Although instrumental music (伎) in the 13th century Japanese literature "Gyohuncho (訓抄 of Church)" is a mukgeuk (默劇), it is argued that instrumental music was handed down as a masquerade because its contents are similar to today's Yangju Byeolsandaenori and Bongsan Mask Dance. ²

Talchum originated in Korean villages as part of shamanic rituals. It then became a form of popular entertainment. It was even performed in the royal court—during the Goryeo period, the Office of Masked-Dance Drama (Sandae Togam) supervised such dances. The office however was abolished during the Joseon period. ²

The origin of the mask dance dates back to the end of the 9th century, and you can get a glimpse of the traces of the use of masks in the fifth period of Choi Chi-won's "Hyangak Japyeong", namely, Woljeon, Daemyeon, Geumhwan, Sokdok, and Sanye. What is regrettable is that the poem is too simple and the content is not detailed. However, as a mask play, this is the first record in Korea. In addition to this, it is said that in the Silla Dynasty, there were sword dances and Cheoyong dances as mask play, but there are no accurate literature and relics about this. However, it is said that this mask dance is a story of face-to-face 戱 and young Gwanchang through dance, as the suggestion of the sword dance as a mask dance can be obtained from the article of "Catch Up Donggyeong" and "Pungseongjo". In the same book, it was said that Cheoyongmu also dances with a mask. However, looking at the article "Bibigo Literature" and "Hwangchangrangmu (黃昌郞舞)", it is questionable whether a mask was used even at the time of Silla when these two plays occurred. However, it can be presumed that it is clear that masks were used later from the above-described literature. This sword dance has been handed down to this day and it is seen that Augusti and the sword dance we see today do not wear masks, which is thought to have been after posterity passed down from male play to female play. In any case, it is thought that this sword dance was intended to express and inspire the spirit of Hwarangdo (郞 way) when Silla was trying to achieve the feat of unification as a sword dance. ²

During the Goryeo Dynasty, there were mask-wearing narye events and sandae japhee. Narye is a ritual held on the night of the Lunar New Year's Eve to welcome a pleasant and joyful New Year by expelling evil spirits, the source of disasters and sickness throughout the year. According to the Literature Memorandum, this event was held until King Injo of the Joseon Dynasty when he entered the Korean Peninsula in the 6th year of King Jeongjong of Goryeo. Meanwhile, unlike Narye, there was a sandae japhee at the end of Goryeo. This japhee also included masks such as Cheoyongmu, but it became more popular when it entered the Joseon Dynasty. ²

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Talchum”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ²

talchum is traditional type of dance with Korean masks worn by people, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ¹

The source record links this tradition to 3 external registers, which can be verified through the citation. ¹