Traditionally, Korean Artisans and Musicians Went Through Roughly Five

Several years ago while taking an advanced post-graduate class in Korean folklore and ethnography, I did considerable academic research into Korea’s popular indigenous martial arts traditions. Although a long time student of traditional martial arts, as a cultural historian, I disciplined myself and applied a critical thinking mindset. Over the past few months, I’ve revisited and revised my work with plans for an article to be submitted to an academic journal. Your thoughts and input are appreciated. To best share the research, the article is split into three sections. Korean Folk Martial Arts: A Cultural History Perspective By Don Southerton Introduction Martial arts traditions on the Korean peninsula reach back centuries. Across much of Korea’s long history unarmed combat arts were seen as a military skill and a popular (folk) activity. For example, from the late 4th century, Koguryô Kingdom Anak tomb wall paintings depict fighters engaged in combat matches. Over a millennium later in the Chosôn Dynasty (1392-1910) and following the Japanese invasions of late 16th century, King Sunjo commissioned military officials to compile the Muye jebo-- a treatise on contemporary fighting systems. The work evolved over the next two hundred years into an official textbook, the Muye dodo tongji, which included kwon pup (fist technique). 1 Fig. 1. 1 Sang H. Kim, Muye Dobo Tongji: Compete Illustrated Manual of Martial Arts (Wethersfield, CT: Turtle Press, 2000), p. 13. 1 Fig. 1 Kwon pup This first section of the essay will survey written and visual records--from the Three Kingdom Period (57-668) through the late Chosôn Dynasty and early Colonial Period (1910-1945)--for accounts of popular martial arts practice. A second forthcoming work will examine the impact of Japanese Colonialism, modernity, South Korean government policy, and standardization of folk martial arts. Finally, a third section will discuss the legitimacy of claims made by modern martial arts that link their arts to ancient roots. An Overview As noted, historical accounts of indigenous Korean martial arts reach back to wall paintings in the Koguryô Anak Muyongchong tomb. (Fig. 2). The tomb art depicts daily life and is an invaluable source of information on the occupants and events in their lives, including costumes, architecture, religion, and entertainment. 2 Murals depict combat matches, which would imply martial arts were a common activity. 2 Jane Portal, Korea, Art and Archaeology (New York: Thames and Hudson, 2000), pp. 47- 49. 2 Fig. 2 Anak #3 Tomb Illustration of Combatants It was however during the Koryô Dynasty (980 -1392) that indigenous martial arts were identified in text as subak or subakki. For example, according to historic records of the Koryô Dynasty, two acclaimed practitioners, Lee Ui-min and Du Kyông-sung, were renowned for their prowess in subak. 3 With the social-political transformation that accompanied the subsequent dynastic change in the late 14th century, Korea’s domestic military arts that included hand–to-hand combat were influenced by those of Ming China (kwonpup, shipp’al ki)--the new dynasty embracing all things Chinese. In addition, what were once popular indigenous martial arts practices were suppressed by the aristocratic upper class (yangban) and pushed to the fringes of society— the elites instead favoring the Confucian tradition of scholarship and the classic arts.4 One 3 Na Hyon-song. Han'guk ch'eyuk kyokuska yon'gu (Seoul: Kyohaksa, 1991) p. 41. 4 Unlike Japan where the ruling gentry, samurai, was a warrior class, in Korea the gentry was Neo-Confucian intelligencia. A defining split occurred between Korea’s ruling elite, military (muban) and scholars (munban), in 995 A.D., with the munban gaining hegemony for nearly 900 years. See Martina Deuchler, The Confucian Transformation of Korea (Cambridge, MA (Harvard University Press, 1992), p. 33. 3 exception was archery (kung do), which grew in popularity and was deemed an appropriate “high culture” activity. Nevertheless, over the next 200 years, military experts sought out battle-tested techniques, which were further chronicled in the Muye dobo tongji (The comprehensive illustrated manual of martial arts). However, these texts focused on training for the wisa (king’s guard) and the military. 5 In fact, for the civilian population, the ruling class of yangban Confucian elites saw little value in popular martial arts (subak, taekkyeon). 6 Over time they were marginalized. Similar to many traditional folk arts practiced by the Chosôn masses, few text accounts of popular martial arts exist today—the elites like in many other civilizations favoring and documenting “high culture” arts. Moreover, twentieth century Japanese colonial occupation forbade practice of native martial arts forcing devotees to train in secrecy. Following the liberation of Korea in 1945, modern schools of Korean martial arts opened to the public— most rooted in Japanese and Chinese systems. These schools (kwan) grew in popularity with most eventually unified under the name Taekwondo during the 1961-1979 regime of President Park Chung Hee. In fact, those kwan not aligning with government policy were suppressed. By the 1980s, advocates of Korean folk martial arts looked to re-introduce taekkyeon. They found government support and in 1983 taekkyeon was designated Intangible Cultural Asset No. 76 under the 1962 Cultural Properties Protection Law, CPPL 5 Ibid. 6 In this work, the reader will see a number of Korean terms. These terms, highlighted in italics, usually follow the McCune-Reischauer (MR) method of Romanization. One exception is taekkyeon, which is the most popular spelling among its current practitioners. 4 (Munhwajae pohobôp). Text Culture Since folk martial arts existed outside of the sphere of the elites only a few written culture sources document Chosôn folk martial art practice. Early in the dynasty, we find the name in common usage shifting from subak to taekkyeon. One account is described in Dongkuk yôji sungnam (Augmented Survey of the Geography of Korea), which was published in 1530. It stated that in Ch’akji, a village in the Unjin-hyôn region of Ch’ungch’ong-do, people from that area along with those from Chôlla-do gathered around on Tano (Buddhist All Souls' Day) and Ch’usôk (Fall Harvest Festival) to compete in ssirum (wrestling) and taekkyeon matches. In taekkyeon, practitioners won by felling their standing opponents, mainly by using the hands and feet, without weapons. Folk activities at these festivals also included kune (swings), t’alchum (mask dances), and p’younssam sôchôn (stone throwing). Taekkyeon, however, was not an exclusively rural art form. For example, in an article on Chosôn life in Seoul, contests between villages were called kyôllyôn taekkyeon. The locale of these events was near the Cheonggyecheon stream, which was an urban waterway flowing from east to west through the center of Seoul. Accounts tell that outside the daily activities of domestic life, the Cheonggyecheon stream banks served as a community focal point. On holidays, traditional folk events such as bridge crossing, kite flying, lotus lantern lighting, and stone-throwing contests drew inhabitants from the capital region. With regard to martial arts contests, the two groups, including the witdaepae and araetpae, participated in taekkyeon competition. Witdae was also known as sangch’on (higher village); specifically this was the area north of the Kwangtongkyo Bridge that extended to Inwangsan. Araedae, commonly known as the hach’on (lower village) was the area south of the Hyokyôngkyo 5 Bridge. In the latter area, taekkyeon was most commonly performed near the Hunginchimun, Kwanghuimun and Yôngdokyo Gates. On the day of the contest, taekkyeon matches began with children’s competition and advanced to adult level, those with the highest skills performing last. This event continued regularly into the last days of the Chosôn Dynasty until it was banned under Japanese rule. Visual Culture Although limited text accounts exist, folk martial art practice is documented in genre painting (pungsokhwa) of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. Korea genre paintings are recognized as an accurate visual representation of culture and customs of Chosôn society. In Taek’aedo (Competition Painting) attributed to artist Yusuk (circ. 1846) two unmarried men engaged in a taekkyeon match (see Fig. 3 and 4) 7. The crowd of spectators, both commoners and yangban, conveys a feeling that taekkyeon, was popular and rooted in the daily lives of Korean 7 Portal, Korea, Art and Archaeology, p. 132. Judith G. Smith, ed. Arts of Korea (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000), pp. 210-212. In Soo Cho, a Korean art historian commented that many of the nineteenth century genre paintings were reproductions of artwork dating back many decades. Thus, Cho noted the painting’s subject matter was indicative of activities prior to the mid-nineteenth century. 6 Fig. 3 Taek’aedo (Competition Painting) Genre Painting of Ssirum and Taekkyeon Matches Fig. 4 Insert of taekkyeon match from Taek’aedo Colonial Suppression 7 With the exception of grand events such as Seoul’s kyôllyôn taekkyeon, widespread public martial arts practice appears to have declined in its popularity during the last decades of the Chosôn Dynasty. In one account of the public matches, the Haedong chukchi, which was published in the 1920s, author Ch’oe Yông-nyôn, mentions taekkyeonhui. 8 The Haedong chukchi reported that there was an old tradition of wagering on which opponent would fall to the ground after being tripped or kicked. At times, the matches resulted in serious injuries and eventually the authorities banned public matches. An additional Korean account of the period from Sin Ch’ae-ho’s Chosôn sanggosa (1931) (History of Ancient Korea) also mentions taekkyeon. The journalist and pioneer of nationalistic history work stressed the distinct identity found in Korean culture. 9 Significantly, Sin noted taekkyeon’s ancient past and one time popularity.

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